DreamWorks Pictures acquired the film rights to the novel in December 2009, with Spielberg announced to direct the film in May 2010. Having directed many films set during the Second World War, it was his first film to tackle the events of World War I. Long-term Spielberg collaborators Janusz Kamiński, Michael Kahn, Rick Carter, and John Williams all worked on the film as cinematographer, editor, production designer, and music composer, respectively.

In 1912, a teenage boy named Albert Narracott (Jeremy Irvine) from Devon, England, witnesses the birth of a bayThoroughbred foal and subsequently watches with admiration the growth of the young horse. Much to the dismay of his mother Rose (Emily Watson), his father Ted buys the colt at an auction, outbidding their landlord Lyons despite them needing a more suitable plough horse for the farm work. Albert's best friend, Andrew Easton, watches as Albert teaches his colt many things, such as to come to him when he imitates the call of an owl by blowing through his cupped hands, he names the horse Joey.

Ted carries a war injury that causes him ongoing physical and mental pain. While he cannot speak of his time in the Cavalry, Rose shows Albert his father's medals from the Second Boer War that he earned for bravery under fire, she gives Albert his father's regimental pennant, telling Albert that his father felt shame over what he did during the war, and that he had thrown the flag and medals away, though Rose saved and kept them hidden. Albert does not understand why Ted would be ashamed of having fought in a war.

Against all odds and Lyons' hopes, Albert manages to train Joey and have him plough a rocky field that Ted plants with turnips. However, a heavy downpour in 1914 destroys the turnip crops, so Ted is compelled to sell the horse to the army in order to pay his rent. Albert begs his father to return the money. Captain James Nicholls sees the boy's attachment and promises to look after the steed. Albert tries to enlist in the army but is too young, and before the captain leaves with Joey, Albert ties his father's pennant to Joey's bridle.

Joey is trained for military operations and becomes attached to Topthorn, a black horse with whom he is trained for his military role, the two horses are deployed to Flanders with a flying column under the command of Nicholls and Major Jamie Stewart, but they lead a cavalry charge through a German encampment, and the unit is mown down by machine gun fire. Nicholls is killed along with almost all his fellow cavalrymen; the Germans capture the horses.

A young German soldier called Gunther is assigned to the care of Joey and Topthorn, who are used to draw an ambulance wagon. When his 14-year-old brother Michael is sent to the front line, Gunther takes the horses and the four of them desert, hiding inside a nearby farm, the German Army soon tracks down the boys, and they are shot for desertion. However, the Germans leave without noticing Joey and Topthorn in the barn.

An orphaned French girl named Emilie, who lives at the farm with her grandfather, finds the two horses and takes care of them. German soldiers arrive and confiscate supplies from the property, even the jam that Emilie's grandfather makes, but Emilie hides the horses in her bedroom. Emilie suffers from a disease that makes her bones fragile and is not allowed to ride the horses for fear of risking injury when falling off the horse. Nonetheless, Emilie's Grandfather, for her birthday, allows her to ride Joey, she gallops the horse up the hill and runs into the Germans who then take the horses, breaking Emilie's heart. The grandfather keeps the pennant.

By 1918, Albert has enlisted and is fighting alongside Andrew in the Second Battle of the Somme, under the command of Lyons's son David, after a British charge into no man's land, Albert and Andrew miraculously make it across into a deserted German trench, where a gas bomb explodes, filling the trench with poison gas.

Joey and Topthorn are used by the Germans to haul artillery up a large muddy hill, under the command of Private Friedrich Henglemann, who tries to keep the horses alive. Topthorn eventually succumbs to exhaustion and dies. Friedrich is dragged away by other German soldiers, leaving Joey to face an oncoming Mark IV tank, the horse escapes and runs into no man's land, where he gets entangled in the barbed wire barriers. From their respective trenches, both British and German soldiers spot Joey in the night mist, and a British soldier named Colin, waves a white flag and tries to free the horse. Peter (Hinnerk Schönemann), a German soldier, comes over with wire cutters, and together they free Joey from the wire, the two make friendly talk on the remorseless war. They flip a coin, provided by Peter, to decide who should take the horse; Colin, who called heads, wins (Peter remarks, on seeing the coin land in the mud heads up, "Aye, that is my Kaiser, and he looks none too pleased with me!") and guides Joey back to the British trench, now having made friends with Peter.

Andrew is killed by the gas attack, but Albert survives, temporarily blinded. While recuperating, he hears about the "miraculous horse" rescued from no-man's land, the army doctor instructs Sgt. Fry to put Joey down, but when Fry is about to shoot, Joey hears the owl call he learnt as a colt. Albert is led through the troops to Joey, again sounding his call, and Joey hurries to meet his long-missed friend. Albert explains that he raised Joey, and with bandages still covering his eyes, gives an exact description of the horse's markings, confirming his claim, with Joey covered in mud, the camp doctor at first dismisses Albert's statement, but he is astonished when soldiers wash away the grime, revealing the four white socks and diamond star on Joey's forehead.

World War I ends, and an order is made that the horse should be auctioned. Albert is given money collected from his fellow soldiers in order to bid for him, but bidding by a butcher exceeds that of the collection. Then a bid of £100 is entered, the bidder is an older gentleman, Emilie's grandfather, who informs the butcher that if he is bid against, he will sell his coat and bid to £110—and should he bid against him again, he will sell his farm and bid to £1,000. No other bid is placed, and the grandfather takes ownership of Joey, planning to return with him to his farm, he tells Albert that Emilie has died, and after hearing about the miracle horse, he travelled for three days to get Joey back, for the sake of his beloved granddaughter's memory.

Albert pleads for the horse with Emilie's grandfather, who at first remains unmoved, the old man is surprised, however, when the horse chooses to return to Albert, and he presents Albert with the military pennant, asking him what it is. Albert's quick recognition of the pennant convinces the grandfather that Joey is indeed his horse, he gives Joey back to Albert, saying that it's what Emilie would have wanted. Albert returns with Joey to his family's farm, where he returns the pennant to his father, the elder Narracott extends his hand to the boy, now a man and like him, a former soldier.

Michael Morpurgo wrote the 1982 children's novel War Horse after meeting World War I veterans in the Devon village of Iddesleigh where he lived. One had been with the Devon Yeomanry and was involved with horses; another veteran in his village, Captain Budgett,[6] was with the cavalry and told Morpurgo how he had confided all his hopes and fears to his horse. Both told him of the horrific conditions and loss of life, human and animal, during the Great War. A third man remembered the army coming to the village to buy horses for the war effort: horses were used for cavalry and as draught animals, pulling guns, ambulances and other vehicles. Morpurgo researched the subject further and learned that a million horses died on the British side; he extrapolated an overall figure of 10 million horse deaths on all sides. Of the million horses that were sent abroad from the U.K., only 62,000 returned, the rest dying in the war or slaughtered in France for meat. The Great War had a massive and indelible impact on the U.K.'s male population: 886,000 men died, one in eight of those who went to war, and 2% of the entire country's population.[7][8][9]

After observing a young boy with a stammer forming a fond relationship with and talking fluently to a horse at a farm run by Morpurgo's charity Farms for City Children, Morpurgo found a way to tell the story through the horse and its relations with the various people it meets before and during the course of the war: a young Devon farmboy, a British cavalry officer, a German soldier, and an old Frenchman and his granddaughter.[8][9][10]

"I won't kid you, it was more money [for the film rights] than I've ever been paid for anything I've ever written. But that wasn't the temptation, the temptation was the chance for an iconic film about the First World War, perhaps as great as All Quiet on the Western Front with its overpowering sense of waste."

From 2006–2009, Morpurgo, Lee Hall and Revel Guest worked on a proposed film version of War Horse, which Morpurgo and Hall would write and Guest produce. Lack of finances meant that it was an informal arrangement, with the film rights not formally sold by Morpurgo to Guest's production company and no one being paid for the work they undertook;[17][18] in 2009, film producer Kathleen Kennedy saw the critically acclaimed production of War Horse in London's West End with her husband, fellow producer Frank Marshall and their two daughters. They were very impressed by the story and Marshall has recalled how he was amazed that no one had already bought the film rights to the book.[19][20]Steven Spielberg was told about War Horse by several people, including Kennedy, who was his colleague at Amblin Entertainment.[20][21][22] After discussions with Revel Guest, it was announced on 16 December 2009 that DreamWorks had acquired the film rights to the book, with Spielberg stating: "From the moment I read Michael Morpurgo's novel War Horse, I knew this was a film I wanted DreamWorks to make … Its heart and its message provide a story that can be felt in every country."[23][24] Spielberg saw the London production of the play on 1 February 2010 and met some of the cast afterwards.[25][26][27] He admitted to being moved to tears by the performance.[28]

Hall commented that "Weirdly the week that we finished it [the screenplay], Spielberg expressed an interest, we sent him the script, and within a couple of weeks he'd decided he was going to make the film—it was one of those situations that never happens in the world of film."[29]

DreamWorks executive Stacey Snider suggested Richard Curtis to work on rewrites for the screenplay: she had worked with Curtis during her time at Universal Studios, and Curtis had previously written the World War I-set BBC comedy television series Blackadder Goes Forth along with Ben Elton which meant he was already familiar with the period. Spielberg was a fan of Blackadder but had never met Curtis.[30] Curtis was initially reluctant to take part, but on meeting Spielberg they got on so well that Curtis rethought and committed to work on the script.[30] Curtis has stated that the screenplay is closer to the book than the play, and that 'the existence of the play itself helped him "be brave" about his own adaptation.'[31] Curtis produced more than a dozen drafts in three months,[32] and has spoken of the close collaboration he had with Spielberg while working on the script.[33][34]

Having previously only been slated to produce the film, Spielberg decided to direct "the second I read [Curtis's] first draft, it happened faster than anything else we've [Spielberg and Snider] done together."[29][35] It was announced that Spielberg was to direct the film on 3 May 2010;[36] the cast was announced on 17 June 2010.[3] Speaking at the Tribeca Film Festival in April 2011, actor Peter Mullan said that he took the part not just because Spielberg was directing, but also because of the 'beautiful script, really nice script'.[37]

According to an account of the book, play and film's development by Michael Morpurgo, within weeks of hearing from Kennedy about the London theatre production, Spielberg had "seen the play, met the cast, visited the Imperial War Museum and decided this would be his next film; in the weeks that followed he worked with Lee Hall and Richard Curtis on the script, and within months the film was being made".[9] Spielberg was able to act so quickly because he was on a hiatus, waiting for the animation on his other 2011-released film, The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn, to be completed.[32]

After some speculation, the cast for War Horse was announced on 17 June 2010,[3] it had been rumoured in the previous week that Eddie Redmayne had been cast in the lead part as Albert Narracott;[44] however, relatively unknown stage actor Jeremy Irvine was chosen instead. Spielberg commented after seeing hundreds of young boys reading for the role, Irvine had come in and done a cold reading and that "his performance was very natural, very authentic."[22] Irvine auditioned for two months, going in two or three times a week, and learned that he had the part when he was asked to read a piece of War Horse script on camera in order to check his West Country accent, and the piece of mocked-up script that he read out was Albert telling Joey that Steven Spielberg wanted him to play the part.[45]

The cast is European,[46] with British, French and German actors playing characters of their respective nationalities.[47]Robert Emms, who played the lead of Albert Narracott in the West End production of the play, was cast as David Lyons.[48]

Casting for extras took place in Devon in late July 2010;[49] in all, some 5,800 extras were used in the film.[32] The granddaughter of Captain Budgett, one of the World War I veterans who had inspired Morpurgo to write the story, acted as an extra in scenes filmed in Castle Combe,[9][50] and Morpurgo himself filmed a cameo role there, along with his wife Clare.[51][52][53]

Prior to the start of filming, some of the actors underwent two months of intensive horse training.[13]

Spielberg films are renowned for the levels of secrecy and security during filming, and this was no exception: filming took place under the codename Dartmoor,[49][54] the filming period took 'about 64 days' in total.[55]

Filming on location on Dartmoor, Devon started in August 2010.[57][58] Initially, Spielberg was only going to have four or five days' worth of second unit material shot in Devon, but after Kathleen Kennedy sent him photographs of the various locations she had scouted, he decided to cut other elements of the story to enable more filming to take place in countryside that Kennedy described as "so extraordinarily beautiful and absolutely perfect for the story".[59] Dartmoor locations included the small villages of Meavy and Sheepstor, Burrator Reservoir, Bonehill Rocks and surrounding area near Widecombe-in-the-Moor, Ringmoor Down, Combestone Tor and surrounding area, Haytor, Hexworthy Bridge and Cadover Bridge/Brisworthy.[60][61]Ditsworthy Warren House, an isolated Grade II listed building near Sheepstor on Dartmoor served as the Narracott family's farmhouse, and many scenes were filmed in the surrounding area.[60][62][63]

On 11 September 2010, the annual Dartmoor Yomp was re-routed to allow filming to continue undisturbed.[64] Spielberg praised the Dartmoor countryside's beauty: "I have never before, in my long and eclectic career, been gifted with such an abundance of natural beauty as I experienced filming War Horse on Dartmoor… And, with two-and-a-half weeks of extensive coverage of landscapes and skies, I hardly scratched the surface of the visual opportunities that were offered to me."[65] Spielberg felt that the landscape was very much a character in the film.[66]

Although Devon rural locations were used, scenes in the main village in the story were filmed at the Wiltshire village of Castle Combe near Chippenham, despite the vernacular architecture of Devon (predominantly cob walls and thatched roofs) being very different from that of Wiltshire (stone walls and stone tiled roofs). Filming began there on 21 September 2010 and continued until 1 October 2010.[67][68][69][70] Some residents of Castle Combe were angered by the imposition of tightened security within the village, claiming they could not enter the village without waiting at perimeter barriers until breaks in filming.[71]

"The Michael Morpurgo book is ‘Black Beauty goes to war’. So if you’re English, two of the most emotive subjects you could touch on are Black Beauty and the First World War, the crew were constantly in tears, as there were war memorials and everybody had a story in their family ... for English people, everyone is touched by that war."

Michael Morpurgo, the author of the book on which the film is based, visited the set several times while filming was being undertaken: "Spielberg's a wonderful storyteller and a kid, he adores stories and that's what he's best at. It's extraordinary to meet someone with that kind of enthusiasm, utterly unspoiled … When I went to visit him on set, he was clearly enthralled by the countryside, he fell for Devon in a big way. He was warm, kind and open, and utterly without ego … Spielberg was like a conductor with a very light baton, he hardly had to wave it at all. I was in awe."[73]Emily Watson also praised Spielberg's approach: "It was intimate, passionate and about the acting. And every single priority that as an actor that you would want to be there was there, it felt very real and focused."[81] On set, he'd come in, in the morning, and say, 'I couldn't sleep last night. I was worrying about this shot!' Which was great! He's human and he's still working in an impassioned way, like a 21-year-old, trying to make the best out of everything."[82]

For lead actor Jeremy Irvine, starring in his first film role, the filming process was intense at times, in particular the scene where the British cavalry, 130 horses in total and many hundreds of extras, charged the German machine gun lines, he explained: "It's the weapons of the old world—our men on horses—meeting the absolute destruction of these tools of mass slaughter. There was this line of machine guns and there's this wall of lead coming out of these guns. There were real explosions at my feet, bodies flying through the air, stunt men getting shot at, it was terrifying. The smoke and the smell and the taste of the guns firing. It's not difficult to act scared in that situation. There's no doubt this was deliberate: not only to have the film look great, but to have that effect on the actors, it was an eye-opening scene."[13]

Spielberg commented on how he and cinematographer Janusz Kamiński developed the 'look' of the film: "…it doesn't feel like Ryan at all … it has a much more daguerrotype feel, much more brownish. We're not using any of the techniques we used on Ryan, the only similarity is that it is war and it is handheld."[30]

"When I'm on an Indy movie, I'm watching Indiana Jones, not the horse he is riding ... Suddenly I'm faced with the challenge of making a movie where I not only had to watch the horse, I had to compel the audience to watch it along with me. I had to pay attention to what it was doing and understand its feelings, it was a whole new experience for me."

The pre-production period only allowed for three months to train the horses before shooting commenced,[86] the main horse trainer was Bobby Lovgren,[86] and other horse trainers included Dylan Jones, Bill Lawrence,[87][88] and Zelie Bullen.[89][90]

During filming, fourteen different horses were used as the main horse character Joey, eight of them portraying him as an adult animal, four as a colt and two as a foal;[87][91] four horses played the other main equine character, Topthorn.[86] Up to 280 horses were used in a single scene.[32] A farrier was on set to replace horseshoes sucked off in the mud during filming, and the horses playing the main horse characters had a specialist equine make-up team, with their coats dyed and markings added to ensure continuity. Equine artist Ali Bannister was responsible for the 'hair and make-up' of the horses, as well as drawing the sketches of horses that are featured in the film.[92] Extra filming involving a bay foal took place in California in March 2011.[15] Working with horses on this scale was a new experience for Spielberg, who commented: "The horses were an extraordinary experience for me, because several members of my family ride. I was really amazed at how expressive horses are and how much they can show what they're feeling."[12]

Representatives of the American Humane Association were on set at all times to ensure the health and safety of all animals involved,[93] and the Association awarded the film an "outstanding" rating for the care that was taken of all the animals during the production.[94] However, a 2013 suit by former AHA employee Barbara Casey alleges that a horse was killed on set, but the organisation chose to "cover-up the death" to protect Spielberg's reputation.[95] An animatronic horse was used for some parts of the scenes where Joey is trapped in barbed wire;[96] the wire was rubber prop wire.[94]

Film editor Michael Kahn spoke of his work on the film: "We have some shots in War Horse that are just fantastic … We shot it in Devon, and you know it's gorgeous down there, and the horses are beautiful and the farms are beautiful, beautiful scenery and every shot is gorgeous, and eventually you get to the war part of it and it's really, really something." Kahn had a trailer on set and edited the film during filming.[97] Kahn and Spielberg cut the film digitally on an Avid, rather than on film, a first time with this technology for Spielberg: "He decided that he'd like to try it", Kahn commented.[98][99]

After filming, further editing was undertaken at the U.K.'s Twickenham Film Studios, with the production moving back to the U.S. in November 2010.[79] Kahn also said of his work on the film: "We put together here in Hollywood, it worked well … Those English actors are awfully good and so were the horses. The horses were beautifully trained, for an editor there were a lot of match [frame] problems with the horses but the shooting was so good that I got everything I needed."[14]

The film score by John Williams was recorded in late March and early April 2011.[97] Tuba player Jim Self reported in May 2011: "For John Williams I [sic] recently finished recording for the film War Horse. It's a war movie so the score has a lot of brass—but it was gentle music often."[100] English folk singer John Tams, who wrote the songs for the stage production of War Horse, was approached by Spielberg and Williams about including one of his songs from the stageshow in the film;[51][101] in the liner notes to the film soundtrack CD, Spielberg wrote "I feel that John has made a special gift to me of this music, which was inspired not only by my film but also by many of the picturesque settings of the poet William Wordsworth, whose vivid descriptions of the British landscape inspired much of what you are going to hear."[102] In the premiere of three of the tracks on New York radio station WQXR's "Movies on the Radio", broadcaster David Garland drew parallels with the work of British composer Ralph Vaughan Williams.[103]

Visual effects for the film were undertaken by London-based company Framestore.[104] According to Spielberg, the film's only digital effects are three shots lasting three seconds, which were undertaken to ensure the safety of the horse involved: "That's the thing I'm most proud of. Everything you see on screen really happened."[28] Kathleen Kennedy elaborated, stating "We really did it very naturalistically. There isn't a lot of blood. Steven wasn't interested in bringing Private Ryan into it, but we did want to make a PG-13 movie."[21] Actor Tom Hiddleston said of the film that Spielberg had "seen the stage play and he wanted to retain the magic and heartbeat of that … It's a moving, powerful story you can take children to see, but it is still very upsetting … People die, and it is war."[105]

John Williams composed and conducted the film's musical score, the second score composed the same year by Williams for Spielberg after The Adventures of Tintin.[106] Williams took inspiration by visiting a horse farm in California and observing horses and their behavior, elaborating that "I got in the habit of watching the horses in the morning, and I began to see how they connect to each other and how they became curious about me. That's when I really began to get the sense that horses are very special creatures, they have been magnificent and trusted friends for such a long time and have done so much for us with such grace."[107] Williams was also influenced by the geographic scope of the film's story; in regards to that approach, Williams stated; "This was a very rich opportunity musically because it is both about humans and animals and it takes place in three different countries. It starts out in a more intimate way, on the farm with the bonding of Joey and Albert. Then, the eruption of war changes the scale, and the music does a 180-degree turn, from this bucolic, gentle, even sentimental music, you move into the music of battle surges and gripping struggles. It's a musical journey full of dimension and emotional content, and I tried also to create an atmosphere reflective of that period, which was lyrical, poetic and tragic."[107] The score was recorded by a 90-piece orchestra, with Williams comparing the recording sessions more to a concert piece rather than a traditional film score, as it relied more on the individual performance of the musicians.[107]

"To round out the year, Steven Spielberg's War Horse appears in time for the festive period. If you're thinking that nothing says Christmas like the bloody trench warfare carnage, you may be in luck, but while Spielberg isn't one to sugarcoat the horrors of war, he's just the director to fill this Great War-set story of a boy and his horse with saddlebags of heart and soul. We can't wait to see how he's brought the colossally popular stage play to the big screen."

War Horse was released in North America by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures through its Touchstone Pictures label on 25 December 2011.[109] The release date for America was originally set for 10 August 2011, but after a meeting in London in early October 2010 between DreamWorks and Disney executives, when some footage was screened, the decision was taken to move its release to 28 December 2011 in the holiday period,[110] and in the U.K. on 13 January 2012.[111] DreamWorks executive Stacey Snider said: "The reaction to the footage—which he [Spielberg] usually never shows—was that it feels like a big, holiday movie … It just became inevitable that we would move it. (Spielberg) feels great about it."[110] In late September 2011, Disney moved the release date again, to Christmas Day 2011.

Only a very few unofficial on-set photographs and clips of video footage were published in the press and online during the filming period. Due to the usual embargo on photographs and videos being taken and made public during Spielberg shoots, very few photographs emerged, with the majority being snatched paparazzi shots; in October 2010 Spielberg's cinematographer on the film, Janusz Kamiński, put an on-set photograph of himself on a battlefield set on his Facebook page.[112] The first ten official photographs were made public by DreamWorks in several releases between 11 and 14 March 2011, in Empire magazine, in an article in the Daily Mail and in an article in Entertainment Weekly.[13][113] On 16 March 2011 a British blogger published an account of her unofficial visit to the War Horse set at Ditsworthy Warren House, and despite the security on-set, was able to take photographs of the set's interior and of Steven Spielberg.[114] On 29 March 2011, DreamWorks presented behind-the-scenes footage, introduced on film by Spielberg, to theatre owners at CinemaCon in Las Vegas. Spielberg was unable to attend in person as he was still working on the film's post-production.[115]

On 29 June 2011, the film's first official teaser trailer was released, and the official website was launched,[116][117] on its launch, the website was rather a sparse affair, with just the official trailer and synopsis, and only two of the ten previously-released official photographs. Further footage, introduced on film by Spielberg, was shown at the Empire magazine 'Big Screen' event in London in August 2011.[118] Jeremy Irvine talked about his experiences making the film at the same event,[45] the full theatrical trailer was released on 4 October 2011,[119][120] and more on-set photographs were released on 17 November 2011.[121]

"The film feels like a Christmas present, [Morpurgo] says—one he desperately wants to open but isn't allowed to yet. If that sounds almost childlike, so does the quality of his anticipation: 'I know I've built up my hopes considerably ... I want it to live on and on in people's minds'."

The publicity strategy for War Horse unusually featured preview screenings for the public in U.S. heartland areas before either the critics were shown the film or it was screened to the public in major metropolitan areas. The first preview screenings of War Horse were held at various locations across the U.S. on 1, 2 and 10 November 2011.[123][124]Military veterans in Canada were invited to seven different screenings on 16 November, in honour of Remembrance Day, five days earlier.[125] More preview screenings in the U.S. took place on 27 November, with Spielberg attending a question and answer session at the New York screening that was beamed to the other screening cinemas and shown live on the internet.[126][127]

Press screenings for critics were first held in New York and Los Angeles on Thanksgiving Day, 24 November 2011, although there was an embargo on official reviews being published at that time,[128] on 27 November, there was a special screening in London for the crew and cast, the first time anyone involved with the film (apart from Spielberg and his close collaborators) had seen it.[129] Three television advertisements for the film were released in the U.S. on Thanksgiving Day, 24 November 2011,[130] shortly followed by others.[131][132]

In the old school they use now for the Village Hall, below the clock that has stood always at one minute past ten, hangs a small dusty painting of a horse, he stands, a splendid red bay with a remarkable white cross emblazoned on his forehead and with four perfectly matched white socks. He looks wistfully out of the picture, his ears pricked forward, his head turned as if he has just noticed us standing there.

To many who glance up at it casually, as they might do when the hall is opened up for Parish meetings, for harvest suppers or evening socials, it is merely a tarnished old oil painting of some unknown horse by a competent but anonymous artist. To them the picture is so familiar that it commands little attention, but those who look more closely will see, written in fading black copperplate writing across the bottom of the bronze frame:Joey.Painted by Captain James Nicholls, autumn 1914.

Some in the village, only a very few now and fewer as each year goes by, remember Joey as he was. His story is written so that neither he nor those who knew him nor the war they lived and died in, will be forgotten. (1-2)

Bannister's commissioned portrait was hung in the Iddesleigh Town Hall in part response to the reported tourists who had previously sought out the (fictional) portrait.[135]

War Horse was released on Blu-ray Disc, DVD, and digital download on 3 April 2012 from Touchstone Home Entertainment. The release was produced in three different physical packages: a 4-disc combo pack (2-disc Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital Copy); a 2-disc combo pack (Blu-ray and DVD); and a 1-disc DVD. The film was released digitally through on-demand services such as the "iTunes Store" in high and standard definitions,[136] the 1-disc DVD includes the bonus feature "'War Horse': The Look" and the digital versions come with "An Extra's Point of View." The 2-disc combo pack includes "'War Horse': The Look" and "An Extra's Point of View" bonus features. The 4-disc combo pack comes with the same extras as the 2-disc combo pack, as well as "A Filmmaking Journey," "Editing & Scoring," "The Sounds of 'War Horse,'" and "Through the Producer's Lens" bonus features.[137]

Based on 218 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, War Horse received a 76% "Certified Fresh" approval rating from critics with an average score of 7/10, the site's critical consensus is "Technically superb, proudly sentimental, and unabashedly old-fashioned, War Horse is an emotional drama that tugs the heartstrings with Spielberg's customary flair."[5]

Although there was an embargo on official reviews of the film being published before 21 December 2011,[138] reviews started appearing from 26 November 2011 onwards in mainstream press such as The Daily Telegraph, which gave it 4½ out of 5 stars.[139]

Roger Ebert gave the film 3.5 out of 4 stars, saying the film contained "surely some of the best footage Spielberg has ever directed". He wrote, "The film is made with superb artistry. Spielberg is the master of an awesome canvas. Most people will enjoy it, as I did." [143]Richard Roeper praised War Horse by saying, "What a gorgeous, breathtaking, epic adventure this is." He gave the film 4.5 out of 5 stars.[144]Ty Burr of The Boston Globe said that the film was a work of full-throated Hollywood classicism that looks back to the craftsmanship and sentimentality of John Ford and other legends of the studio era. He gave it 3 out of 4 stars.[145]

The film also made many critics' top film lists of 2011. Richard Corliss of Time named it 2011's fifth-best film, saying "Boldly emotional, nakedly heartfelt, War Horse will leave only the stoniest hearts untouched".[146] David Chen of /Film selected War Horse as 2011's best film.[147]

In The Guardian, Simon Winder lamented that the film, "despite twisting and turning to be even-handed, simply could not help itself and, like some faux-reformed alcoholic, gorged itself on an entire miniature liqueur selection of Anglo-German clichés".[148]David Denby of The New Yorker wrote about the film that "The horses themselves are magnificent, and maybe that's reason enough to see the movie. But War Horse is a bland, bizarrely unimaginative piece of work".[149]

The soundtrack recording by John Williams received a Sammy Award for Best New Film Score CD.[150]

War Horse grossed $79,859,441 domestically and $97,200,000 overseas, for a worldwide total of $177,584,879. Although not one of Spielberg's biggest box office successes, it was the highest-grossing World War I film of all time until Wonder Woman, five years later.[2]

1.
Steven Spielberg
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Steven Allan Spielberg, KBE, OMRI is an American director, producer, and screenwriter. He is considered one of the pioneers of the New Hollywood era. He is also one of the co-founders of DreamWorks Studios, in a career spanning more than four decades, Spielbergs films have spanned many themes and genres. His other films include Jurassic Park, A. I, artificial Intelligence, and War of the Worlds. Spielberg won the Academy Award for Best Director for Schindlers List and Saving Private Ryan, three of Spielbergs films—Jaws, E. T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and Jurassic Park—achieved box office records, originated and came to epitomize the blockbuster film. The unadjusted gross of all Spielberg-directed films exceeds $9 billion worldwide and his personal net worth is estimated to be more than $3 billion. Spielberg was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, to an Orthodox Jewish family and his mother, Leah Posner, was a restaurateur and concert pianist, and his father, Arnold Spielberg, was an electrical engineer involved in the development of computers. His paternal grandparents were immigrants from Ukraine who settled in Cincinnati in the first decade of the 1900s, in 1950, his family moved to Haddon Township, New Jersey when his father took a job with RCA. Three years later, the moved to Phoenix, Arizona. Spielberg attended Hebrew school from 1953 to 1957, in classes taught by Rabbi Albert L. Lewis, as a child, Spielberg faced difficulty reconciling being an Orthodox Jew with the perception of him by other children he played with. It isnt something I enjoy admitting, he said, but when I was seven, eight, nine years old, God forgive me. I was embarrassed by the perception of my parents Jewish practices. I was never really ashamed to be Jewish, but I was uneasy at times, Spielberg also said he suffered from acts of anti-Semitic prejudice and bullying, In high school, I got smacked and kicked around. His first home movie was of a wreck involving his toy Lionel trains. Throughout his early teens, and after entering school, Spielberg continued to make amateur 8 mm adventure films. In 1958, he became a Boy Scout and fulfilled a requirement for the merit badge by making a nine-minute 8 mm film entitled The Last Gunfight. Years later, Spielberg recalled to an interviewer, My dads still-camera was broken. He said yes, and I got an idea to do a Western, I made it and got my merit badge

2.
Kathleen Kennedy (producer)
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Kathleen Kennedy is an American film producer. In 1981, she co-founded Amblin Entertainment with Steven Spielberg and husband Frank Marshall and she was a producer on the 1982 film E. T. the Extra-Terrestrial and the Jurassic Park franchise, the first two of which became two of the top ten highest-grossing films of the 1990s. Kennedy is third only to Spielberg and Stan Lee in domestic box office receipts, on October 30,2012, she became the president of Lucasfilm, and the brand manager of the Star Wars franchise, after The Walt Disney Company acquired the company for over $4 billion. Overall, Kennedys work has included over 60 films,120 Academy Award nominations, one of her most recent projects, Lincoln, also produced by Spielberg, was nominated for seven Golden Globes and twelve Academy Awards. Kennedy was born in Berkeley, California, the daughter of Dione Marie Dede, a theater actress, and Donald R. Kennedy. Her twin sister, Connie, formerly a location manager in British Columbia, Kennedy graduated from Shasta High School in Redding, California, in 1971. She continued her education at San Diego State University where she majored in telecommunications, after her employment with KCST, she went on to produce a local talk show entitled Youre On for the station for four years before moving to Los Angeles. In Los Angeles, Kennedy secured her first film production job working as an assistant to John Milius, during the production of 1941, while working for screenwriter John Milius, Kennedy came to the attention of Steven Spielberg. Spielberg hired Kennedy as his secretary, but both she and he reported that she was a terrible typist who was kept on only because of her good production ideas. Kennedy was credited as associate to Mr. Spielberg on Raiders of the Lost Ark and she began receiving producer credit with Spielberg on the box-office smash E. T. the Extra-Terrestrial, which continued on most of his films for the next three decades. Following her work on the Indiana Jones films, she rose to one of Hollywoods leading producers. In 1981 she helped co-found and run the successful production company Amblin Entertainment, with Spielberg. She went on to collaborate with a large and important group of directors, including Martin Scorsese, Robert Zemeckis, Barry Levinson, and Clint Eastwood when they made films for Amblin. Kennedy took over a portion of the running of Amblin and served as president of the Amblin company until 1992. She became a partner with him in The Kennedy/Marshall Company, a Santa-Monica-based film-production company with a deal at DreamWorks. In 2007, she was the first recipient of Women in Films Paltrow Mentorship Award, for showing extraordinary commitment to mentoring and supporting the generation of filmmakers. In 2005 she was a producer on two of Spielbergs films, War of the Worlds and Munich, the latter of which earned her an Academy Award nomination. Marshall and Kennedy were producers for the US versions of two Studio Ghibli animated features, Ponyo released in 2009 and The Secret World of Arrietty, in May 2012, she stepped down from Kennedy/Marshall, leaving Marshall as sole principal of their eponymous film company

3.
Richard Curtis
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Richard Whalley Anthony Curtis, CBE is an English screenwriter, producer and film director, who was born in New Zealand to Australian parents. Bean and The Vicar of Dibley and he is also the co-founder of the British charity Comic Relief along with Sir Lenny Henry. In 2007, Curtis received the BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award, the highest award the British Film Academy can give a filmmaker and he received the BAFTA Humanitarian Award at the 2008 Britannia Awards, for co-creating Comic Relief and contributions to other charitable causes. In 2008 he was ranked number 12 in The Telegraphs list of the 100 most powerful people in British culture. In 2012, Curtis was among the British cultural icons selected by artist Sir Peter Blake to appear in a new version of his most famous artwork – the Beatles Sgt, peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover – to celebrate the British cultural figures of his life. Curtis was born in Wellington, New Zealand, the son of Australian parents Glyness S. and Anthony J. Curtis and his father was a Czechoslovakian refugee who moved to Australia when aged thirteen. Curtis and his family lived in different countries during his childhood, including Sweden. For a short period in the 1970s, Curtis lived in Warrington, where he attended Appleton Grammar School, before he won a scholarship to Harrow School and he achieved a first-class Bachelor of Arts in English Language and Literature at Christ Church, Oxford. At the University of Oxford, Curtis met and began working with Rowan Atkinson and he appeared in the companys After Eights at the Oxford Playhouse in May 1976. Collaborating with Rowan Atkinson in the Oxford Revue, he appeared alongside him at his breakthrough Edinburgh Fringe show, as a result of this, Curtis was commissioned to co-write the BBC Radio 3 series The Atkinson People with Atkinson in 1978, which was transmitted in 1979. He then began to write comedy for film and TV and he was a regular writer on the TV series Not the Nine OClock News, where he wrote many of the shows songs with Howard Goodall and many sketches, often with Rowan Atkinson. Curtis was the co-writer with Philip Pope of the Hee Bee Gee Bees single Meaningless Songs released in 1980 to parody the style of a series of Bee Gees disco hits. First with Atkinson, and later with Ben Elton, Curtis then wrote the Blackadder series from 1983 to 1989, Atkinson played the lead throughout, but Curtis remains the only person to have been a writer for every episode of Blackadder. The pair continued their collaboration with the comedy series Mr. Bean, Curtis had by then already begun writing feature films. His first was The Tall Guy in 1989, the romantic comedy starred Jeff Goldblum, Emma Thompson and Rowan Atkinson and was produced by Working Title films. The TV movie Bernard and the Genie followed in 1991, in 1994, Curtis created and co-wrote The Vicar of Dibley for comedian Dawn French, which was a great success. Curtis achieved his success with the romantic comedy Four Weddings. The 1994 film, starring Hugh Grant and Andie MacDowell, was produced on a budget by the British production company Working Title Films

4.
War Horse (novel)
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War Horse is a childrens novel by Michael Morpurgo. It was first published in Great Britain by Kaye & Ward in 1982, the story recounts the experiences of Joey, a horse purchased by the Army for service in World War I France and the attempts of young Albert, his previous owner, to bring him safely home. It formed the basis of both a winning play and an acclaimed film adaptation by Steven Spielberg. He also met another villager, Captain Budgett, who had been in the cavalry in the Great War, and a villager, Albert Weeks. Morpurgo thanks these three men in the dedication of the book, with his wife, Morpurgo had founded Farms for City Children, a charity where inner city children live and work on rural farms for a week. Talking, talking, talking, to the horse and it showed horses during the First World War charging into barbed wire fences. The painting was by F. W. Reed and was dated 1917, Morpurgo wrote a fictionalised version of this painting in his Authors Note at the start of the book. In his version, the shows a red bay with a white cross on his forehead. Painted by Captain James Nicholls, autumn 1914. )One day, teds son, Albert, names him Joey and grows to love him, protecting the young horse from Ted when Ted is drunk and caring for Joey. While with the Narracotts, Joey also meets a horse named Zoey, who was a source of comfort to Joey, soon, Ted sells Joey to the army in return for money, before Albert can stop him. Albert tries to sign up for the army, but he is too young, Joey is trained for the army by Corporal Perkins, and Captain James Nicholls is his original rider, leading a unit of mounted infantry. Joey soon befriends Topthorn, a horse ridden by James Stewart, however, during a charge against a group of Germans, Nicholls is killed. Stewart assigns Trooper Warren, a young man who rides heavier but is quite kind. During another charge, Topthorn and Joey carry Warren and Stewart into the enemy lines and they use Joey and Topthorn to pull an ambulance cart for the hospital, where the two horses are famous and respected for saving the lives of many. The Germans allow Emilie and her grandfather, who live in a farm near the front lines, to care for Joey, Emilie grows to love Joey and Topthorn like Albert loved Joey, caring for their every injury and feeding them every night. Soon, the Germans move their hospital somewhere else because there was a battle there, and Emilie and her grandfather are allowed to keep Joey and Topthorn, Topthorn was not bred to plow, but learns quickly from Joey, who has experience from the Narracott farm. Soon, however, a group of German artillerymen pass by their farm, the two horses meet Friedrich, who befriends them and tries to care for them as much as he can, growing to love Topthorn and telling them that he didnt want to be a soldier. Joey and Topthorn are two of the last few survivors of the artillery-pulling team, one day, after drinking water with Joey, Topthorn dies from heart failure

5.
Michael Morpurgo
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Michael Morpurgo, OBE, FRSL, FKC, DL is an English book author, poet, playwright, and librettist who is known best for childrens novels such as War Horse. Morpurgo became the third British Childrens Laureate, from 2003 to 2005, Morpurgo was born in 1943, his biological father was actor Tony Van Bridge. His mother, Kippe Cammaerts, who had been an actress, Morpurgo did not find out who his biological father was until he was 19, when watching the 1962 film version of Great Expectations with his mother, in which Bridge appeared. Morpurgo was educated at schools in central London, Devon, Sussex and Kent and he attended the independent prep school Mount House in Devon until he was 13. He then joined the profession with a job in a primary school in Kent. He also, from 1968, briefly taught at St. Faiths School in Cambridge, Morpurgos writing career was inspired by Ted Hughes Poetry in the Making, Paul Gallicos The Snow Goose and Ernest Hemingways The Old Man and the Sea. Poets Seán Rafferty and Ted Hughes were influential in his career, with Hughes becoming a friend, mentor and neighbour. It wasnt until he was teaching in Kent that Morpurgo discovered his vocation in life, of which he later said I could see there was magic in it for them, and realized there was magic in it for me. In 2009 Morpurgo donated the short story Look At Me, I Need a Smile to Oxfams Ox-Tales project, Morpurgos story was published in the Water collection. Morpurgo married Clare, eldest daughter of Sir Allen Lane, the founder of Penguin Books, in 1976 Michael and Clare established the charity Farms for City Children, with the primary aim of providing children from inner city areas with experience of the countryside. The programme involves the children spending a week at a countryside farm, about 85,000 children have taken part in the scheme since it was set up, and the charity now has three farms in Devon, Gloucestershire and Wales. In 1999 the couple were appointed Members of the Order of the British Empire in recognition of their services to youth, Morpurgo was promoted to Officer of the Order of the British Empire on 17 June 2006 for his services to literature. He was the person to fill the two-year position, from 2003 to 2005. Gentle Giant was presented as an opera by composer Stephen McNeff, film versions have been made of Friend or Foe, Private Peaceful and Why the Whales Came, the latter also being adapted to a stage play. My Friend Walter Purple Penguins and Out of the Ashes have been adapted for television, the show transferred to the West End on 28 March 2009, and on 15 March 2011, the show premiered on Broadway at the Vivian Beaumont Theater. War Horse was also adapted as a 2011 British film directed by Steven Spielberg, composer Stephen Barlow created a musical adaptation of Rainbow Bear, narrated by his wife Joanna Lumley. This was subsequently presented as a ballet by the National Youth Ballet of Great Britain in August 2010. In a January 2014 article, Morpurgo stated as we begin to mark the centenary of the first world war, we should honour those who died, most certainly, and gratefully too, but we should never glorify

6.
Emily Watson
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Emily Margaret Watson, OBE is an English actress. She won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress as Janet Leach for the 2011 ITV television film biopic Appropriate Adult, Watson began her career on stage and joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1992. In 2002, she starred in productions of Twelfth Night and Uncle Vanya at the Donmar Warehouse, Watson was born in Islington, London. Her father, Richard Watson, was an architect and her mother, Katharine, was an English teacher at St Davids Girls School and she was brought up as an Anglican. Watson has described her childhood self as a Nice middle class English girl, id love to say I was a rebellious teenager but I wasnt. Watson was educated at St James Independent Schools, in west London and she attended the University of Bristol, where she obtained a BA. Following university, she trained at the Drama Studio London and she later received an MA from Bristol University. Watsons career began on the stage and her theatre credits include The Childrens Hour, Three Sisters, Much Ado About Nothing and The Lady from the Sea. Watson has also worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company in A Jovial Crew, The Taming of the Shrew, Alls Well That Ends Well and her performance was widely acclaimed on both sides of the Atlantic and garnered her an Olivier Award nomination for Uncle Vanya. Watson was virtually unknown until director Lars von Trier chose her to star in his controversial Breaking the Waves after Helena Bonham Carter dropped out at the very last minute. She also played a role in Cradle Will Rock, a story of a theatre show in the 1930s. Though she won the role of Frank McCourts mother in the adaptation of his acclaimed memoir, Angelas Ashes. In 2001, she appeared alongside John Turturro in The Luzhin Defence, in 2004, Watson received a Golden Globe nomination for her role as Peter Sellerss first wife, Anne Howe, in the HBO film The Life and Death of Peter Sellers. 2005 saw Watson starring in four films, Wah-Wah, Richard E, in 2007, she appeared in The Water Horse, Legend of the Deep, an adaptation of the Dick King-Smith childrens novel about the origin of the Loch Ness Monster. Watson considers Ginzburg to be her best recent role, however, in 2011, she played Janet Leach in the ITV two-part film Appropriate Adult, about serial killer Fred West, for which she won a BAFTA. She also received rave reviews for her portrayal of Julie Nicholson in the BBC Drama A Song for Jenny, Watson was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2015 New Year Honours for services to drama. In 2017, she starred in the BBC mini-series Apple Tree Yard, in 2007, Mood Indigo, a script written by Watson and her husband, was optioned by Capitol Films. The film is a story set during the Second World War

7.
David Thewlis
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David Thewlis is an English actor. His most commercially successful role to date has been that of Remus Lupin in the Harry Potter film series and he has also done voice work in the films James and the Giant Peach, The Miracle Maker and Anomalisa. He is also known for the role of Cyrus Crabb in the TV mini series Dinotopia, Thewlis, the second of three children, was born in Blackpool, Lancashire, the son of Maureen and Alec Raymond Wheeler. Both parents worked at his fathers shop, as a teenager, he played in a rock band called QED, and played lead guitar with a punk rock band called Door 66. He was educated at Highfield High School, a secondary school in South Shore. Later, he enrolled in the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, Thewlis had a minor role in an episode of the 1980s sitcom Up the Elephant and Round the Castle. He also appeared in an episode of popular sitcom Only Fools and his first professional role was in the play Buddy Holly at the Regal in Greenwich. That same year, he appeared on television as a sexual predator named James Jackson in Prime Suspect 3, opposite Helen Mirren, before that, his first television appearance was alongside Ken Jones in Valentine Park. He was nominated for a British Independent Film Award for Divorcing Jack, notable appearances also include Bernardo Bertoluccis Besieged and Paul McGuigans Gangster No. 1, opposite Paul Bettany and Malcolm McDowell and he auditioned for the role of Quirrell in the film Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone, but the part went to Ian Hart. Despite missing out on the first film, he was cast in 2004 as Professor Lupin in Harry Potter and he did not have to audition as he was director Alfonso Cuaróns first choice for the role. Thewlis reprised the role in four films in the series. He appeared as an SS Commandant of a Nazi death camp and father of the character in The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. Other credits include Ridley Scotts Kingdom of Heaven, Terrence Malicks The New World and The Omen. Thewlis played the late Dr. Michael Aris, husband of Nobel Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma, with Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh as Suu Kyi, in the biopic The Lady directed by Luc Besson. He also starred in Regression, a released in autumn 2015, in which he was reunited with Harry Potter co-star Emma Watson. In September 2015, Thewlis starred as Inspector Goole in Helen Edmundsons BBC TV adaptation of J. B, priestleys An Inspector Calls, alongside Ken Stott and Miranda Richardson. In October 2015, he played King Duncan in the film Macbeth, with Michael Fassbender starring as Macbeth, Thewlis will reportedly be portraying Ares in Wonder Woman, the upcoming DC Comics film adaptation based on the character of the same name, set for release in 2017

8.
Peter Mullan
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Peter Mullan is a Scottish actor and filmmaker. He is best known for his role in Ken Loachs My Name Is Joe, for which he won Best Actor Award at 1998 Cannes Film Festival and The Claim. He is also winner of the World Dramatic Special Jury Prize for Breakout Performances at 2011 Sundance Film Festival for his work on Paddy Considines Tyrannosaur. Mullan appeared as supporting or guest actor in numerous movies, including Riff-Raff, Braveheart, Trainspotting, Young Adam, Children of Men, War Horse. Mullan is an art house movie director. He is the person to win top prizes both for acting and for the best film at major European film festivals. He was nominated for Primetime Emmy Award for his work in the series, Mullan is also politically active, supporting left-wing causes and protests. Mullan was born in Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, the son of Patricia, the second youngest of eight children, Mullan was brought up in a working class Roman Catholic family. They later moved to Mosspark, a district in Glasgow, an alcoholic and sufferer from lung cancer, Mullans father became increasingly tyrannical and abusive. For a brief period, Mullan was a member of a gang while at secondary school. He was homeless for short periods at the ages of 15 and 18, Mullan went on to Glasgow University to study economic history and drama. There he began acting and continued acting after graduation. He had roles in such as Shallow Grave, Trainspotting, Braveheart. His first full-length film, Orphans, won an award at the Venice Film Festival, in 2002, he returned to directing and screenwriting with the controversial film The Magdalene Sisters, based on life in an Irish Magdalene asylum. Mullan won a Golden Lion award at the Venice Film Festival, Mullans role as a recovering alcoholic in My Name Is Joe won him the Best Actor Award at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. A passionate critic of Tony Blairs New Labour government, he told The Guardian the TUC, Mullan took part in a 2005 occupation of the Glasgow offices of the UK Immigration Service, protesting against the UKISs dawn raid tactics when deporting failed asylum seekers. In January 2009, Mullan joined other actors in protesting against the BBCs refusal to screen a Disasters Emergency Committee appeal for Gaza and they told BBC director general Mark Thompson, Like millions of others, we are absolutely appalled at the decision to refuse to broadcast the appeal. We will never work for the BBC again unless this disgraceful decision is reversed and we will urge others from our profession and beyond to do likewise

9.
Niels Arestrup
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Niels Arestrup is a French actor, film director and screenwriter. He was born in Paris into a family of modest means, his father was Danish, Arestrup has won three César Awards for Best Supporting Actor for The Beat That My Heart Skipped and A Prophet, then Quai dOrsay. The two first films were directed by Jacques Audiard and he is the most awarded in this category. Movies starring Niels Arestrup with more than a million of entries in France, Niels Arestrup at the Internet Movie Database

10.
Jeremy Irvine
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Jeremy William Fredric Smith, better known as Jeremy Irvine, is an English actor who made his film debut in the epic war film War Horse. In 2012, he portrayed Philip Pip Pirrip in the adaptation of Great Expectations. Irvine earned a reputation as an actor after he went for two months without food, losing around two stone, and performed his own torture scene stunts in The Railway Man. Irvine was born and raised in Gamlingay, Cambridgeshire and his mother, Bridget, is a politician in local government, and his father, Chris Smith, is an engineer. Irvine also has two brothers, Lawrence and Toby, the latter a child actor who portrays the young Pip in Great Expectations. Irvines stage surname was his grandfathers first name and his great-grandfather, Sir Ralph Lilley Turner, wrote the quotation used as the inscription on the Gurkha Memorial, London. He applied to the British Army at the age of 19 and he started acting at the age of 16. Irvine states that it was his teacher who inspired him to pursue acting, I never fitted in. I was looking for something different and he played Romeo along with other main roles in plays whilst attending Bedford Modern School, followed by a run with the National Youth Theatre. He almost gave up acting for good just before he got his big break in War Horse and my dad wanted me to get a job being a welder. At the company he was at, he was an engineer, I was very very close to doing that. Before he got his big break, Irvine worked in his local supermarket and he was also called in for an audition to do a mayonnaise commercial but supposedly turned it down. Irvine taught at a school that has since closed. He played Luke in the television series Life Bites and appeared in the Royal Shakespeare Companys 2010 production of Dunsinane and he was quoted in Interview Magazine, saying, My friends all took the mick out of me for Dunsinane saying, Youre gonna be the tree. Indeed, in my first scene, I was waving two branches, in June 2010, he was cast in the lead role of the 2011 Steven Spielberg film War Horse. The film was an adaption of Michael Morpurgos novel, also entitled War Horse, the casting process lasted for two months, with Irvine auditioning several times a week. Irvine was asked to read a section of the War Horse script on camera in order to check his West Country accent, in an attempt to prepare himself for the role of Albert, Irvine took up weight training and gained approximately 14 lbs. of muscle. He also underwent two months of intensive horse riding and he spent so much time recreating the Battle of Somme scene in the film that he ended up contracting trench foot

11.
John Williams
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John Towner Williams is an American composer, conductor, and pianist. T. The Extra-Terrestrial, the Indiana Jones series, Jurassic Park, Schindlers List, Williams has been associated with director Steven Spielberg since 1974, composing music for all but two of his feature films. Williams has won five Academy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, seven British Academy Film Awards, with 50 Academy Award nominations, Williams is the second most-nominated individual, after Walt Disney. In 2005, the American Film Institute selected Williams score to 1977s Star Wars as the greatest American film score of all time. The soundtrack to Star Wars was additionally preserved by the Library of Congress into the National Recording Registry, for being culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant. Williams was inducted into the Hollywood Bowls Hall of Fame in 2000, and was a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors in 2004, Williams composed the score for eight movies in the Top 20 highest-grossing films at the U. S. box office. John Towner Williams was born on February 8,1932 in Floral Park, New York, the son of Esther and Johnny Williams, Williams has said of his lineage, My father was a Maine man—we were very close. My fathers parents ran a department store in Bangor, Maine, people with those roots are not inclined to be lazy. In 1948, the Williams family moved to Los Angeles where John attended North Hollywood High School graduating in 1950 and he later attended the University of California, Los Angeles, and studied privately with the Italian composer Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco. Williams had originally briefly attended Los Angeles City College for one semester as the school had a Studio Jazz Band. In 1952, Williams was drafted into the U. S. Air Force, in 1955, following his Air Force service, Williams moved to New York City and entered The Juilliard School where he studied piano with Rosina Lhévinne. During this time Williams worked as a jazz pianist in the many jazz clubs. After moving to Los Angeles he began working as a session musician, Williams has two brothers, Donald and Jerry, both of whom work as percussionists in Los Angeles. After his studies at Juilliard, and the Eastman School of Music, Williams returned to Los Angeles, among other composers, Williams worked with Franz Waxman, Bernard Herrmann, and Alfred Newman, and also with his fellow orchestrators Conrad Salinger and Bob Franklyn. Williams was also a studio pianist, performing on film scores by composers such as Jerry Goldsmith, Elmer Bernstein, Williams recorded with Henry Mancini the film scores of 1959s Peter Gunn, 1962s Days of Wine and Roses, and 1963s Charade. Williamss first film composition was for the 1958 B movie Daddy-O and he soon gained notice in Hollywood for his versatility in composing jazz, piano, and symphonic music. Williams received his first Academy Award nomination for his score for 1967s Valley of the Dolls. Williams broke through to win his first Academy Award for his score in the 1971 film Fiddler on the Roof

12.
DreamWorks
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DreamWorks Pictures is an American film production label of Amblin Partners. It was formerly distributing its own and third-party films by itself and it has produced or distributed more than ten films with box-office grosses of more than $100 million each. As of October 2016, DreamWorks films are marketed and distributed by Universal Pictures, DreamWorks began in 1994 as an attempt by media moguls Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen to create a new Hollywood studio of which they owned 72%. Currently, DreamWorks operates out of offices at Universal Studios, in December 2005, the founders agreed to sell the studio to Viacom, parent of Paramount Pictures. The sale was completed in February 2006, in 2008, DreamWorks announced its intention to end its partnership with Paramount and signed a $1.5 billion deal to produce films with Indias Reliance ADA Group. Reliance provided $325M of equity to fund recreating DreamWorks SKG into DreamWorks Studios, after the formation of Amblin Partners in 2015, the studio entered into a distribution agreement with Universal Pictures. DreamWorks animation arm was spun off in 2004 into DreamWorks Animation SKG, which owns the DreamWorks trademarks. Spielbergs company continues to use the DreamWorks trademarks under license from Universal Studios, the original company was founded following Katzenbergs resignation from The Walt Disney Company in 1994. Katzenberg approached Spielberg and Geffen about forming a live-action and animation film studio, which had not been done in decades due to the risk and expense. They agreed on three conditions, They would make fewer than nine movies a year, they would be free to work for other studios if they chose, and they would go home in time for dinner. They officially founded DreamWorks SKG in October 1994, with backing of $33 million from each of the three partners and $500 million from Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. Their new studio was based at offices in the Universal Studios lot, despite access to sound stages and sets, DreamWorks preferred to film motion pictures on location. Usually, the company would film in a soundstage or set in a major studio, as of 2016, DreamWorks is still based in Universal. In 1995, traditional animation artists from Amblimation joined the new studio, which led to DreamWorks buying part of Pacific Data Images, both were software divisions, and would merge later on. For then, DreamWorks had the traditional animators working for their animation department. These films were distributed by DreamWorks Pictures, the same year, PDI/DreamWorks produced its first full-length animated features, Antz and The Prince of Egypt, which were also distributed by DreamWorks Pictures. DreamWorks SKG continued to distribute PDI/DreamWorks productions through their name until 2004. In 2000, DreamWorks was planning in building a studio backlot after buying 1,087 acres of land in the Playa Vista area in Los Angeles and it was to be complete with 18 sound stages, with many office buildings and a lake

13.
Amblin Entertainment
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Amblin Entertainment is an American film and television production company founded by director and producer Steven Spielberg and film producers Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall in 1981. The companys headquarters are located on the backlot of Universal Studios in Universal City, Amblin is named after Spielbergs first commercially released film, Amblin, a short independent film about a man and woman hitchhiking through the desert. The film, which cost $15,000 to produce, was shown for Universal Studios, although Amblin is an independent production company, Universal distributes many Amblin productions, and Amblin operates out of a building on the Universal lot. Its logo features the silhouette of E. T. riding in the basket on Elliotts bicycle flying in front of the moon from the 1982 movie, J. Abrams, The Coen Brothers, and Simon Wells. Most of these directors are close friends of Spielberg, who has a producer or producer credit on many. Amblins most critically acclaimed production is Schindlers List, which was nominated for twelve Academy Awards, winning seven, a companion study guide for it, Facing History, was prepared through a grant from Amblin and Universal. Amblins television series credits include Amazing Stories, Tiny Toon Adventures, seaQuest DSV, Animaniacs, Earth 2, Pinky and the Brain, ER, Freakazoid. Back to the Future, Family Dog, The Spooktacular New Adventures of Casper, Fievels American Tails, The Land Before Time and Men in Black, the animated title Fievels American Tails and others were produced by Amblins animation division Amblimation, which was active from 1991 until 1995. Another studio which has distributed many Amblin productions is Warner Bros, dreamWorks has distributed a number of Amblin productions since 1994. Asterisked films indicate that Steven Spielberg is uncredited or uninvolved, back to the Future, The Ride, a simulator ride at Universal Studios Japan. Also existed at Universal Studios Florida and Universal Studios Hollywood, gremlins Invasion, a ride at Warner Bros. Jurassic Park, The Ride, a ride at Universal Studios Hollywood. Men in Black, Alien Attack, a ride at Universal Studios Florida. Roger Rabbits Car Toon Spin, a ride in Mickeys Toontown. Twister. Ride it Out, a ride at Universal Studios Florida. E. T. Adventure, a ride at Universal Studios Florida. Also existed at Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Studios Japan, Amblin Entertainment at the Internet Movie Database

14.
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
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Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures is an American film distributor owned by The Walt Disney Company. The division took on its current name in late 2007, which before that had been Buena Vista Pictures Distribution since 1987, before 1953, Walt Disneys productions were distributed by Columbia Pictures, United Artists and RKO Radio Pictures. The name Buena Vista came from the street in Burbank, California, Buena Vistas first release was the Academy Award–winning live-action feature The Living Desert on November 10,1953 along with Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom, Buena Vistas first animated release. Notable subsequent releases include the film, Yang Kwei Fei, released in US theaters in September 1956, The Missouri Traveler in March 1958. In April 1960, the company dropped Film from its name, in 1961, Disney incorporated Buena Vista International, distributing its first PG rated film, Take Down, in January 1979. The low-budget movie was not produced by the Disney studios and was acquired from an independent studio, in July 1987, Buena Vista changed its name to Buena Vista Pictures Distribution, Inc. Late in the 1980s, Disney purchased a stake in one of Pacific Theatres chain leading to Disneys Buena Vista Theaters and Pacific to renovate the El Capitan Theatre. The Crest was finished first while El Capitan opened with the premiere of The Rocketeer film on June 19,1991, the corporation purchased a 12. 8% share in Cinergi with its initial public offering in 1994. Soon, BVPD signed a 25 picture distribution deal with Cinergi, the Gaumont Film Company and Walt Disney formed Gaumont Buena Vista International, their joint venture French distribution company, in 1993. In August 1996, Disney and Tokuma Shoten Publishing agreed that Disney would distribute internationally Studio Ghibli animated films, in September 1996, following Disneys acquisition of Capital Cities/ABC, Buena Vista Pictures Distribution, Inc. was merged into ABC, Inc. the parent company of that group. In July 1998, Buena Vista Pictures Distribution purchased the Hollywood Masonic Temple building to continue using it as a promotional venue, by 1997, BVPDs share in Cinergi dropped to 5%.4 million and other loans. In 2002, Disney signed a four animated film deal with Vanguard Animation, however, since 2004, BVI and Gaumont dissolved their French distribution joint venture, Gaumont Buena Vista International. Buena Vista International agreed to a deal with MegaStar Joint Venture Company Limited in April 2006 for the Vietnam market. In April 2007, Disney discontinued using the Buena Vista brand in its distribution branding, the distribution deal ended in 2016, after DreamWorks and Disney decided to not renew their agreement in December 2015, with Universal replacing Disney as DreamWorks distributor. By the end of the deal, Disney had distributed 14 of DreamWorks original 30-picture agreement, Disney took complete ownership of the DreamWorks II film library in exchange for loans made to that company. In addition, Disney is the first of three studios that have released at least two billion-dollar films in the same year. Furthermore, Disney is the studio that has achieved this four times, in 2010,2013,2015, and 2016—that latter year of which included four $1 billion releases. Four of the top five highest-grossing animated films have been released by Disney, in addition, four of the top-five opening weekends were Disney releases

15.
War film
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War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about naval, air, or land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle scenes means that war films often end with them, themes explored include combat, survival and escape, sacrifice, the futility and inhumanity of battle, the effects of war on society, and the moral and human issues raised by war. War films are categorized by their milieu, such as the Korean War. The stories told may be fiction, historical drama, or biographical, critics have noted similarities between the Western and the war film. Subgenres, not necessarily distinct, include anti-war, comedy, animated, propaganda, the war film genre is not necessarily tightly defined, the American Film Institute, for example, speaks of films to grapple with the Great War without attempting to classify these. However, some directors and critics have offered at least tentative definitions, the director Sam Fuller defined the genre by saying that a war film’s objective, no matter how personal or emotional, is to make a viewer feel war. However, Neale notes, films set in the American Civil War or the American Indian Wars of the 19th century were called war films in the time before the First World War, the film scholar Kathryn Kane points out some similarities between the war film genre and the Western. Both genres use opposing concepts like war and peace, civilization, james Clarke notes the similarity between a Western like Sam Peckinpahs The Wild Bunch and war-movie escapades like The Dirty Dozen. They take place in the combat zones of World War II, against the established enemies, on the ground. They contain many repeated events, such as mail call, all presented visually with appropriate uniforms, equipment and she argues that the combat film is not a subgenre but the only genuine kind of war film. This in turn pushes combat scenes to the ends of war films. Not all critics agree, either, that war films must be about 20th century wars, the costliest war in U. S. history in terms of American life, this war has been the subject of, or the backdrop to, numerous films, documentaries and mini-series. One of the earliest films using the Civil War as its subject was D. W. Griffiths 1910 silent picture, The Fugitive. Some films such as Gettysburg focused on a battle during the war, or even on a single incident, like the French short film. Others like the 1993 miniseries North and South spanned the entire breadth of the war, some films deal with the human aspects of the war, such as The Red Badge of Courage, or Shenandoah, on the tragedy that the war inflicted on the civilian population. Ken Burnss The Civil War is the most watched documentary in the history of PBS, the first war films come from the Spanish–American War of 1898. Short actualities – documentary film-clips – included Burial of the Maine Victims, Blanket-Tossing of a New Recruit and these non-combat films were accompanied by reenactments of fighting, such as of Theodore Roosevelts Rough Riders in action against the Spanish, staged in the United States

16.
War Horse (play)
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War Horse is a play based on the book of the same name by childrens writer Michael Morpurgo, adapted for stage by Nick Stafford. Originally Morpurgo thought they must be mad to try to make a play from his best-selling 1982 novel, nonetheless, a captured foal is brought to Devon in the United Kingdom to be auctioned. Hoping to give it to his son Billy, Arthur Narracott bids on the foal, instead, his brother Ted competes with him and bids 30 guineas—an exorbitant amount for the poor farmer, winning the horse. The local drunkard, Ted is considered to be a coward, at the auction, Ted used money reserved to pay his farm mortgage. Teds wife Rose fears they will lose their farm and their son Albert promises to raise the foal and train him for sale. The boy names the foal Joey, and forms a bond with him during training. Jealous of his cousin Albert, Billy convinces his father to get Ted drunk and make a bet, if Joey can be taught to plough within a week, Arthur will pay Ted 39 guineas, if Joey wont plough, Billy gets the horse. Albert successfully teaches Joey to pull the plough and gets to keep him, news of the outbreak of World War I reaches Devon. When Ted sells Joey to the cavalry, Albert is crushed, lieutenant James Nicholls, who often sketched Albert riding the hunter, promises that he will personally look after the fine horse. At the same time, Arthur enlists Billy to fight despite his protests, Arthur gives Billy his grandfathers knife for protection. Joey and Topthorn are shipped to France, the charges of the British cavalry are overwhelmed by the fire from German machine guns, representing their new technology. During the first charge, Nicholls is shot and killed, Billy is assigned to ride Joey into battle and is captured by German troops. Nichollss sketchbook is sent to Albert, who learns Joey is serving unprotected in France and he lies about his age, enlists in the army and goes to France. There he befriends Private David Taylor, a fellow soldier, the Germans have taken Billy to a French farm being used as a makeshift hospital. He is killed brandishing his knife, Emilie, the girl of the farm family, is nearly killed in the altercation. German officer Friedrich Muller is reminded of his own left in Germany. He and Emilie share a love of horses and, with Emilies mother, they take care of the horses Joey and Topthorn, when a shell kills most of his comrades, Friedrich switches his coat and identity with an enlisted medic, hoping to survive to return home. His subterfuge is discovered but Friedrich enables Emilie and her mother to escape, when the Germans force the two fine horses to work as draft horses, Joey inspires Topthorn to pull in order to survive

17.
Tom Hiddleston
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Thomas William Tom Hiddleston is an English actor, producer and musical performer. At the beginning of his career, he appeared in West End theatre productions of Cymbeline and he won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Newcomer in a Play for his role in Cymbeline and was also nominated for the same award for his role as Cassio in Othello. He came to public attention when cast as Loki in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, appearing in Thor, The Avengers, Thor, The Dark World. In 2011, he won the Empire Award for Best Male Newcomer and was nominated for the BAFTA Rising Star Award. In late 2013 and early 2014, Hiddleston starred as the character in the Donmar Warehouse production of Coriolanus. In 2015, he starred in Guillermo del Toros Crimson Peak, Ben Wheatleys High Rise, Hiddleston was born in Westminster, London. He is the son of Diana Patricia Hiddleston, an administrator and former stage manager, and James Norman Hiddleston. His father is from Greenock, Scotland and his mother is from Suffolk and his younger sister, Emma, is also an actress, whilst his older sister, Sarah, is a journalist in India. Through his mother, he is a great-grandson of Vice Admiral Reginald Servaes, and he was raised in Wimbledon in his early years, and later moved to a Cotswold village near Oxford. He attended the Dragon School preparatory school in Oxford, and his parents divorced when he was 12, when discussing his parents divorce in an interview with The Daily Telegraph, he stated, I like to think it made me more compassionate in my understanding of human frailty. At the age of 13, Hiddleston began boarding at Eton College and he continued on to Pembroke College at the University of Cambridge, where he earned a double first in Classics. During his second term at Cambridge, he was seen in a production of A Streetcar Named Desire by talent agent Lorraine Hamilton and he proceeded to study acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, from which he graduated in 2005. Upon graduating from RADA, Hiddleston was cast in his first film role, playing Oakley in Joanna Hoggs first feature and his sister Emma also appeared in the film as Badge. Casting director, Lucy Bevan, who cast him in the film there was just a fantastic confidence about him. Hiddleston had leading roles in Declan Donnellans company Cheek by Jowls productions The Changeling, for the latter he won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Newcomer in a Play. Hiddleston was the voiceover for BBCs documentary on the Galapagos Island in 2006 and he also narrated the audiobook The Red Necklace by Sally Gardner in 2007, Hiddleston also appeared in the leading role of Edward in Hoggs second feature, Archipelago. In 2007, he joined a list of British actors, including Kate Winslet and Orlando Bloom, Hiddleston is well known for his portrayal of Loki in the 2011 Marvel Studios film, Thor. He was invited to audition by Kenneth Branagh, the director, after having previously worked with Branagh on Ivanov

18.
Benedict Cumberbatch
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Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch CBE is an English actor who has performed in film, television, theatre and radio. He is the son of actors Timothy Carlton and Wanda Ventham, Cumberbatch graduated from the University of Manchester and continued his training at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, obtaining a Master of Arts in Classical Acting. He first performed at the Open Air Theatre, Regents Park in Shakespearean productions, since then he has starred in the Royal National Theatre productions After the Dance and Frankenstein. In 2015, he played William Shakespeares Hamlet at the Barbican Theatre, Cumberbatchs television work includes appearances in Silent Witness and Fortysomething before playing Stephen Hawking in the television film Hawking in 2004. He has starred as Sherlock Holmes in the series Sherlock since 2010 and he has also headlined Tom Stoppards adaptation of Parades End and The Hollow Crown, The Wars of the Roses. From 2012 to 2014, through voice and motion capture, he played the characters of Smaug, Cumberbatch portrays the Marvel Comics character Dr. Stephen Strange in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, first appearing in the film Doctor Strange. Cumberbatch has received awards and nominations for acting including three Laurence Olivier Award nominations, winning Best Actor in a Play for Frankenstein. He has also received four Primetime Emmy Award nominations, winning Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie for Sherlock and his performance in The Imitation Game earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. In addition, he has received six BAFTA nominations, five Screen Actors Guild Award nominations, in 2014, Time magazine included him in its annual Time 100 as one of the Most Influential People in the World. He was appointed a CBE by Queen Elizabeth II in June 2015 for his services to the performing arts, Cumberbatch was born at Queen Charlottes and Chelsea Hospital in the White City district of West Londons Hammersmith and Fulham borough, to actors Timothy Carlton and Wanda Ventham. He grew up in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and he has a half-sister, Tracy Peacock, from his mothers first marriage. His grandfather, Henry Carlton Cumberbatch, was an officer of both World Wars, and a prominent figure of London high society. His great-grandfather, Henry Arnold Cumberbatch, was Queen Victorias consul general in Turkey, Cumberbatch attended boarding schools from the age of 8, he was educated at Brambletye School in West Sussex and was an arts scholar at Harrow School. He was a member of The Rattigan Society, Harrows principal club for the dramatic arts and he was involved in numerous Shakespearean works at school and made his acting debut as Titania, Queen of the Fairies, in A Midsummer Nights Dream when he was 12. Cumberbatchs drama teacher, Martin Tyrell, called him the best schoolboy actor he had worked with. After leaving Harrow, Cumberbatch took a gap year to volunteer as an English teacher at a Tibetan monastery in Darjeeling and he then attended the University of Manchester, where he studied Drama. He continued his training as an actor at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art graduating with an MA in Classical Acting. Since 2001, Cumberbatch has had roles in a dozen classic plays at the Regents Park Open Air, Almeida, Royal Court

19.
Eddie Marsan
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Edward Maurice Charles Eddie Marsan is an English actor. He won the London Film Critics Circle Award and National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor for the film Happy-Go-Lucky in 2008 and he has appeared in the films Gangster No. 1, Mission, Impossible III, Sixty Six, V for Vendetta, Hancock, Sherlock Holmes, War Horse, Sherlock Holmes, A Game of Shadows, The Best of Men, and The Worlds End. He also appears in Showtimes TV series Ray Donovan as Terry, Marsan was born in Stepney, London, to a working-class family, his father was a lorry driver and his mother was a school dinner lady and teachers assistant. He was brought up in Bethnal Green and attended Raines Foundation School and he left school at 16 and initially served an apprenticeship as a printer, before beginning his career in theatre, and moving to a television and film career. He trained at the Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, graduating in 1991, marsans first television appearance was in 1992, as a yob, in the London Weekend Television series The Piglet Files. One of his more significant earliest television appearances was in the popular mid-1990s BBC sitcom Game On as a bank robber. Marsan went on to have roles in Casualty, The Bill, Grass, Kavanagh QC, Grange Hill, Silent Witness, Ultimate Force, Southcliffe and he also voiced the Manticore in the Merlin episode Love in the Time of Dragons. In 2012 he played Dr Ludwig Guttmann in The Best of Men and he portrays Terry Donovan, brother to the lead character in Showtimes drama series Ray Donovan. In May 2015 Marsan appeared as the practical magician Gilbert Norrell and his other films include Sixty Six, Gangs of New York,21 Grams, The Illusionist, V for Vendetta, Gangster No. 1, Miami Vice, Mission, Impossible III, I Want Candy, Vera Drake, Happy-Go-Lucky, Tyrannosaur, Marsan is married to Janine Schneider, a make-up artist. Marsan won the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor, Marsan also won the latter for his performance in Vera Drake. Eddie Marsan at the Internet Movie Database LA Weekly interview with Marsan

20.
Toby Kebbell
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Tobias Alistair Patrick Toby Kebbell is an English stage and film actor. He is known for his roles in such as Dead Mans Shoes, RocknRolla, War Horse, Wrath of the Titans, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Fantastic Four, Warcraft, A Monster Calls. He is also known for his work in the Black Mirror episode and he most recently starred in the second film of the MonsterVerse film series, Kong, Skull Island, which was released in March,2017. Kebbell, the fourth of five children, was born in South Elmsall and he was brought up by his mother, Michelle, a cook and landscape gardener, after his parents divorced. His father, Robert Kebbell, is an engineer and he was raised Catholic, and went to a Catholic primary school. Kebbell trained in acting at the Central Junior Television Workshop in Nottingham along with Andrew Shim, first came to notice when director Shane Meadows cast him in the role of Anthony in the film Dead Mans Shoes. He was nominated for Most Promising Newcomer at the British Independent Film Awards and was lauded for his sensitive. Kebbell then appeared in Oliver Stones Alexander and Match Point, which Woody Allen cast him in without audition after being impressed with his performance in Dead Mans Shoes. Kebbells most critically acclaimed role came in 2007 when he played Rob Gretton and he won the Best Supporting Actor Award at the British Independent Film Awards, other nominees for the award included Cate Blanchett, Colin Firth and Control co-star Samantha Morton. He was also nominated for the London Critics Circle Best Supporting Actor Award alongside Albert Finney, in December 2007, Kebbell took the lead in an episode of Jimmy McGoverns BBC series The Street, which subsequently won the BAFTA for Best Drama series. C. In September 2008, Kebbell was featured in the film RocknRolla, written and directed by Guy Ritchie, alongside actors Tom Wilkinson, Gerard Butler, Kebbell played a crack-addicted musician, Johnny Quid. To play the role Toby Kebbell learned to play the piano, in January 2009, Kebbell was nominated in the Orange Rising Star Award category of the 2009 BAFTA Awards. This award is voted for by the public, Kebbell appeared in the 2009 film Cheri, directed by Stephen Frears, in which he took a small role alongside Michelle Pfeiffer. He filmed in Morocco and London with Jake Gyllenhaal for Prince of Persia, Robert Downey Jr. has since bought the rights to adapt the script for a forthcoming film. In 2014, Kebbell took over the role of Koba in the sequel Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Koba was a badly treated experimental bonobo whose grudge against humans leads to conflict with Caesar, Andy Serkiss character from Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Kebbell played the Marvel antagonist, Doctor Doom, in the 2015 Fantastic Four film, and he played Chapman in the fantasy action film Kong, Skull Island, while also providing guidance for Kongs motion capture sequences. In 2009, Kebbell was linked to British entrepreneur Ruzwana Bashir after they met at a Christmas party given by director Andrew Neil, Kebbell has stated that he is not in a hurry to marry and wishes to be established, and even own a home before settling down. He has since been reported to be single, Toby Kebbell at the Internet Movie Database

21.
David Kross
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David Kross, or David Kroß, is a German actor. He began his career at an age with a small role in the 2002 film Hilfe, ich bin ein Junge. In 2008, he won the role of Michael Berg in critically acclaimed film The Reader. For his part, he was nominated for awards and went on to win the Sierra Award at the Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards for Youth in Film. Kross has since worked in both German and English speaking film roles, including War Horse, Race and Into the White, Kross was born in Henstedt-Ulzburg,20 miles north of Hamburg. He grew up in Bargteheide, where he attended Eckhorst High School until 2007 and he has two brothers and one sister. He played basketball at the professional TSV between 2004 and 2006 and his career started with a small appearance in the 2002 film Hilfe, ich bin ein Junge. In December 2003, he joined Blaues Wölkchen, a group from a childrens theatre in Bargteheide. His first major appearance was in Hilfe, die Herdmanns kommen. Kross not only won praise at Berlinale in 2006, but also won Best Actor in Nuremberg at the 11th Filmfestival Deutschland/Tuerkei, in 2006, Kross worked again with Buck in the film Hands Off Mississippi, playing a baker apprentice. In the fall of the year, he started shooting a film by Marco Kreuzpaintner. In this version of Otfried Preußlers childrens book, Kross plays the role, one of the apprentices of magic, with co-stars Daniel Brühl. The film was released on 19 September 2007 in movie festivals, in September 2007, The Reader began shooting in Berlin, Cologne, and Görlitz. In Stephen Daldrys adaption of the novel by Bernhard Schlink, Kross plays the lead role of Michael Berg, opposite Kate Winslet, Ralph Fiennes. He had to learn to speak English to appear in the film, the world premiere was at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York on 3 December 2008. The film was presented in the 2009 Berlinale but did not compete, in May 2009, Kross was honored for his performance in The Reader at the 62nd Cannes Festival, winning the Chopard trophy. Kross was nominated for a European Film Award as best actor and his next work was in Same Same But Different, again with Buck directing. The script is based on an article by Benjamin Prüfer

22.
World War I
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World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War, or the War to End All Wars, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history and it was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, and paved the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved. The war drew in all the worlds great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances, the Allies versus the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. These alliances were reorganised and expanded as more nations entered the war, Italy, Japan, the trigger for the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. This set off a crisis when Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia. Within weeks, the powers were at war and the conflict soon spread around the world. On 25 July Russia began mobilisation and on 28 July, the Austro-Hungarians declared war on Serbia, Germany presented an ultimatum to Russia to demobilise, and when this was refused, declared war on Russia on 1 August. Germany then invaded neutral Belgium and Luxembourg before moving towards France, after the German march on Paris was halted, what became known as the Western Front settled into a battle of attrition, with a trench line that changed little until 1917. On the Eastern Front, the Russian army was successful against the Austro-Hungarians, in November 1914, the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers, opening fronts in the Caucasus, Mesopotamia and the Sinai. In 1915, Italy joined the Allies and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers, Romania joined the Allies in 1916, after a stunning German offensive along the Western Front in the spring of 1918, the Allies rallied and drove back the Germans in a series of successful offensives. By the end of the war or soon after, the German Empire, Russian Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, national borders were redrawn, with several independent nations restored or created, and Germanys colonies were parceled out among the victors. During the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, the Big Four imposed their terms in a series of treaties, the League of Nations was formed with the aim of preventing any repetition of such a conflict. This effort failed, and economic depression, renewed nationalism, weakened successor states, and feelings of humiliation eventually contributed to World War II. From the time of its start until the approach of World War II, at the time, it was also sometimes called the war to end war or the war to end all wars due to its then-unparalleled scale and devastation. In Canada, Macleans magazine in October 1914 wrote, Some wars name themselves, during the interwar period, the war was most often called the World War and the Great War in English-speaking countries. Will become the first world war in the sense of the word. These began in 1815, with the Holy Alliance between Prussia, Russia, and Austria, when Germany was united in 1871, Prussia became part of the new German nation. Soon after, in October 1873, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck negotiated the League of the Three Emperors between the monarchs of Austria-Hungary, Russia and Germany

23.
Bay (horse)
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Bay is a hair coat color of horses, characterized by a reddish-brown body color with a black mane, tail, ear edges, and lower legs. Bay is one of the most common colors in many horse breeds. The black areas of a bay horses hair coat are called points, and without them. Black points may sometimes be covered by white markings, however such markings do not alter a horses classification as bay, bay horses have dark skin, except under white markings - where the skin is pink. Genetically, bay occurs when a horse carries both the Agouti gene and a base coat. The addition of genes creates many additional coat colors. While the basic concepts behind bay coloring are fairly simple, the genes themselves, the genetics of dark shades of bay are still under study. A DNA test said to detect the seal brown allele was developed, sooty genetics also appear to darken some horse bay coats, and that genetic mechanism is yet to be fully understood. Bay horses range in color from a copper red, to a rich red blood bay to a very dark red or brown called dark bay, mahogany bay, black-bay. The dark, brown shades of bay are referred to in other languages by words meaning black-and-tan. Dark bays/browns may be so dark as to have black coats, with brownish-red hairs visible only under the eyes, around the muzzle, behind the elbow. Dark bay should not be confused with Liver chestnut, which is also a dark brown color, but a liver chestnut has a brown mane, tail and legs. The pigment in a bay coat, regardless of shade, is rich. This makes bays particularly lustrous in the sun if properly cared for, some bay horses exhibit dappling, which is caused by textured, concentric rings within the coat. Dapples on a bay horse suggest good condition and care, though many well-cared for horses never dapple, the tendency to dapple may also be, to some extent, genetic. Bays often have a hair shaft, which, if shaved too closely, may cause the horse to appear several shades lighter. However, as the hair out, it will darken again to the proper shade. This phenomenon is part of bay color genetics, but usually not seen in shades of bay because there is less red in the hair shaft

24.
Thoroughbred
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The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, Thoroughbreds are considered hot-blooded horses that are known for their agility, speed, and spirit. The Thoroughbred as it is today was developed in 17th- and 18th-century England, when native mares were crossbred with imported Oriental stallions of Arabian, Barb. Millions of Thoroughbreds exist today, and around 100,000 foals are registered each year worldwide, Thoroughbreds are used mainly for racing, but are also bred for other riding disciplines such as show jumping, combined training, dressage, polo, and fox hunting. Thoroughbred racehorses perform with maximum exertion, which has resulted in high accident rates, other health concerns include low fertility, abnormally small hearts and a small hoof-to-body-mass ratio. There are several theories for the reasons behind the prevalence of accidents and health problems in the Thoroughbred breed, the typical Thoroughbred ranges from 15.2 to 17.0 hands high, averaging 16 hands. They are most often bay, dark bay or brown, chestnut, black, less common colors recognized in the United States include roan and palomino. White is very rare, but is a recognized color separate from gray, the face and lower legs may be marked with white, but white will generally not appear on the body. Coat patterns that have more than one color on the body, good-quality Thoroughbreds have a well-chiseled head on a long neck, high withers, a deep chest, a short back, good depth of hindquarters, a lean body, and long legs. Thoroughbreds are classified among the breeds, which are animals bred for agility and speed and are generally considered spirited. These artificial dates have been set to enable the standardization of races, the Thoroughbred is a distinct breed of horse, although people sometimes refer to a purebred horse of any breed as a thoroughbred. The term for any horse or other animal derived from a breed line is purebred. Nonetheless, breeders of other species of purebred animals may use the two terms interchangeably, though thoroughbred is less used for describing purebred animals of other species. The term is a noun referring to this specific breed, though often not capitalized, especially in non-specialist publications. For example, the Australian Stud Book, The New York Times, flat racing existed in England by at least 1174, when four-mile races took place at Smithfield, in London. Racing continued at fairs and markets throughout the Middle Ages and into the reign of King James I of England. It was then that handicapping, a system of adding weight to attempt to equalize a horses chances of winning as well as improved training procedures, during the reigns of Charles II, William III, Anne, and George I, the foundation of the Thoroughbred was laid. Under James grandson, Charles II, a keen racegoer and owner, and James great-granddaughter Queen Anne, royal support was given to racing and the breeding of race horses

25.
World War II
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World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan

26.
Touchstone Pictures
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Touchstone Pictures is an American film distribution label of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. Previously, Touchstone operated as an film production banner of Walt Disney Studios. Touchstone Pictures merely serves as a brand, not a business operation. In 2009, Disney entered into a 5-year, 30-picture distribution deal with DreamWorks Pictures by which DreamWorks productions would be released through the Touchstone banner, Touchstone then distributed DreamWorks films from 2011 to 2016. Due to increased public assumption that Disney films were aimed at children and families, in late 1979, Disney Productions released The Black Hole, a science-fiction movie that was the studios first production to receive a PG rating. Over the next few years, Disney experimented with more PG-rated fare, tron was considered a potential Star Wars-level success film by the film division. A loss of $33 million was registered by the division in 1983 with the majority resulting from Something Wicked This Way Comes. Never Cry Wolf, a 1983 PG release that featured male nudity did well as the studio downplayed the films association with the Disney brand. Touchstone Films was started by then-Disney CEO Ron W. Miller on February 15,1984 as a label for their PG films with an expected 3 to 4 movies released under the label. Touchstones first film was Splash, a hit for grossing $68 million at the domestic box office was released that year. Incoming Disney CEO Michael Eisner and film chief Jeffrey Katzenberg considered renaming the label to Hollywood Pictures, following in 1986, Down and Out in Beverly Hills was another early success for Touchstone and is noted as Disneys first R-rated film. Allowing the momentum to increase with films with Ruthless People, Outrageous Fortune, Tin Men. In April 1985, Touchstone Films were licensed to Showtime/The Movie Channel for five years starting in 1986, Touchstone Films was renamed Touchstone Pictures after the film Ruthless People in 1986. With the Touchstone movies, Disney moved to the top of box office receipts beating out all the major film studios by 1988. In April 1988, Touchstone became a unit of Walt Disney Pictures with newly appointed president Ricardo Mestres, on October 23,1990, The Walt Disney Company formed Touchwood Pacific Partners I to supplant the Silver Screen Partnership series as their movie studios primary funding source. Mestres was appointed president of Hollywood, in 2006, Disney limited Touchstones output to 2 or 3 films in favor of Walt Disney Pictures titles due to an increase in film industry costs. Two Touchstone co-productions flopped at the box office minimized by its co-producers financial contributions to the movies, Disney revived Touchstone in 2009 to serve as a distribution label for DreamWorks Studios films. DreamWorks was expected to allow Disney to release additional family fare that could be used at its parks and on its channels, Disney has been financing DreamWorks productions with an $90 million more available under its agreement if DreamWorks cannot get additional equity funding

27.
84th Academy Awards
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During the ceremony, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented Academy Awards in 24 categories. The ceremony was televised in the United States by ABC, and produced by Brian Grazer and Don Mischer, Actor Billy Crystal hosted the show for the ninth time. He first presided over the 62nd ceremony held in 1990 and had last hosted the 76th ceremony held in 2004, in related events, the Academy held its third annual Governors Awards ceremony at the Grand Ballroom of the Hollywood and Highland Center on November 12,2011. On February 11,2012, in a ceremony at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, the telecast garnered more than 39 million viewers in the United States. The nominees for the 84th Academy Awards were announced on January 24,2012, PST at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, California, by Tom Sherak, president of the Academy, and the actress Jennifer Lawrence. Hugo led all nominees with eleven nominations, The Artist came in second with ten, the winners were announced during the awards ceremony on February 26,2012. The Artist was the silent feature to win Best Picture. The 1927 film Wings was the first such film to achieve this distinction at the awards ceremony in 1929. Moreover, it was also the first black-and-white feature to win Best Picture since 1993s Schindlers List, Best Actor winner Jean Dujardin became the first French actor to win an Oscar. With her latest win for Best Actress, Meryl Streep became the performer to win at least three acting Oscars. At age 82, Best Supporting Actor winner Christopher Plummer also made Oscar history by becoming the oldest ever performer to win a competitive acting Oscar, winners are listed first, highlighted in boldface, and indicated with a double dagger. The Academy held its 3rd Annual Governors Awards ceremony on November 12,2011, James Earl Jones — For his legacy of consistent excellence and uncommon versatility. Dick Smith — For his unparalleled mastery of texture, shade, form, oprah Winfrey The following individuals, listed in order of appearance, presented awards or performed musical numbers. Because of the viewership of recent Academy Awards ceremonies, the Academy sought ideas to revamp the show while renewing interest with the nominated films. After a two-year experiment with ten Best Pictures nominees, AMPAS president Tom Sherak announced that the number of final nominees can now range from five to ten as opposed a fixed number. Academy then-executive director Bruce Davis explained, A Best Picture nomination should be an indication of extraordinary merit, If there are only eight pictures that truly earn that honor in a given year, we shouldnt feel an obligation to round out the number. Changes in the Best Animated Feature also were announced, originally, the Academy selected director Brett Ratner as co-producer of the ceremony with Don Mischer in August 2011. Actor and comedian Eddie Murphy was hired by Ratner to preside over hosting duties, Murphy subsequently stepped down as host the following day

28.
69th Golden Globe Awards
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The 69th Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and television of 2011, were broadcast live from the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California on January 15,2012, by NBC. The host was Ricky Gervais, for the third consecutive year, the musical theme for the year was composed by Yoshiki Hayashi, leader of the Japanese band X Japan. The nominations were announced by Woody Harrelson, Sofía Vergara, Gerard Butler, multiple winners for the night included the silent film The Artist which won three awards and The Descendants winning two awards. The television series Homeland also won two awards and these are the nominees for the 69th Golden Globe Awards. Winners are listed at the top of each list. E

29.
65th British Academy Film Awards
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The 65th British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs, were held on 12 February 2012 at the Royal Opera House in London, honouring the best national and foreign films of 2011. The nominations were announced on 17 January 2012 by actor Daniel Radcliffe, stephen Fry, who hosted from 2001 to 2006, returned to host the ceremony. The Artist won seven out of its twelve nominations, including Best Film, Best Director for Michel Hazanavicius. Meryl Streep won Best Actress for The Iron Lady, christopher Plummer won Best Supporting Actor for Beginners and Octavia Spencer won Best Supporting Actress for The Help. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, directed by Tomas Alfredson, was voted Outstanding British Film of 2011, Director Martin Scorsese was given the BAFTA Fellowship and Sir John Hurt garnered the BAFTA Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema Award

30.
Devon
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Devon, also known as Devonshire, which was formerly its common and official name, is a county of England, reaching from the Bristol Channel in the north to the English Channel in the south. It is part of South West England, bounded by Cornwall to the west, Somerset to the northeast, combined as a ceremonial county, Devons area is 6,707 km2 and its population is about 1.1 million. Devon derives its name from Dumnonia, which, during the British Iron Age, Roman Britain, the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain resulted in the partial assimilation of Dumnonia into the Kingdom of Wessex during the eighth and ninth centuries. The western boundary with Cornwall was set at the River Tamar by King Æthelstan in 936, Devon was constituted as a shire of the Kingdom of England thereafter. The north and south coasts of Devon each have both cliffs and sandy shores, and the bays contain seaside resorts, fishing towns. The inland terrain is rural, generally hilly, and has a low density in comparison to many other parts of England. Dartmoor is the largest open space in southern England at 954 km2, to the north of Dartmoor are the Culm Measures and Exmoor. In the valleys and lowlands of south and east Devon the soil is fertile, drained by rivers including the Exe, the Culm, the Teign, the Dart. As well as agriculture, much of the economy of Devon is linked with tourism, in the Brittonic, Devon is known as Welsh, Dyfnaint, Breton, Devnent and Cornish, Dewnens, each meaning deep valleys. One erroneous theory is that the suffix is due to a mistake in the making of the original letters patent for the Duke of Devonshire. However, there are references to Defenascire in Anglo-Saxon texts from before 1000 AD, the term Devonshire may have originated around the 8th century, when it changed from Dumnonia to Defenascir. Kents Cavern in Torquay had produced human remains from 30–40,000 years ago, Dartmoor is thought to have been occupied by Mesolithic hunter-gatherer peoples from about 6000 BC. The Romans held the area under occupation for around 350 years. Devon became a frontier between Brittonic and Anglo-Saxon Wessex, and it was absorbed into Wessex by the mid 9th century. This suggests the Anglo-Saxon migration into Devon was limited rather than a movement of people. The border with Cornwall was set by King Æthelstan on the east bank of the River Tamar in 936 AD, the arrival of William of Orange to launch the Glorious Revolution of 1688 took place at Brixham. Devon has produced tin, copper and other metals from ancient times, Devons tin miners enjoyed a substantial degree of independence through Devons Stannary Parliament, which dates back to the 12th century. The last recorded sitting was in 1748, agriculture has been an important industry in Devon since the 19th century

31.
England
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England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west, the Irish Sea lies northwest of England and the Celtic Sea lies to the southwest. England is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east, the country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain in its centre and south, and includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly, and the Isle of Wight. England became a state in the 10th century, and since the Age of Discovery. The Industrial Revolution began in 18th-century England, transforming its society into the worlds first industrialised nation, Englands terrain mostly comprises low hills and plains, especially in central and southern England. However, there are uplands in the north and in the southwest, the capital is London, which is the largest metropolitan area in both the United Kingdom and the European Union. In 1801, Great Britain was united with the Kingdom of Ireland through another Act of Union to become the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922 the Irish Free State seceded from the United Kingdom, leading to the latter being renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain, the name England is derived from the Old English name Englaland, which means land of the Angles. The Angles were one of the Germanic tribes that settled in Great Britain during the Early Middle Ages, the Angles came from the Angeln peninsula in the Bay of Kiel area of the Baltic Sea. The earliest recorded use of the term, as Engla londe, is in the ninth century translation into Old English of Bedes Ecclesiastical History of the English People. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, its spelling was first used in 1538. The earliest attested reference to the Angles occurs in the 1st-century work by Tacitus, Germania, the etymology of the tribal name itself is disputed by scholars, it has been suggested that it derives from the shape of the Angeln peninsula, an angular shape. An alternative name for England is Albion, the name Albion originally referred to the entire island of Great Britain. The nominally earliest record of the name appears in the Aristotelian Corpus, specifically the 4th century BC De Mundo, in it are two very large islands called Britannia, these are Albion and Ierne. But modern scholarly consensus ascribes De Mundo not to Aristotle but to Pseudo-Aristotle, the word Albion or insula Albionum has two possible origins. Albion is now applied to England in a poetic capacity. Another romantic name for England is Loegria, related to the Welsh word for England, Lloegr, the earliest known evidence of human presence in the area now known as England was that of Homo antecessor, dating to approximately 780,000 years ago. The oldest proto-human bones discovered in England date from 500,000 years ago, Modern humans are known to have inhabited the area during the Upper Paleolithic period, though permanent settlements were only established within the last 6,000 years

32.
Colt (horse)
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A colt is a male horse, usually below the age of four years. The term colt only describes young male horses and is not to be confused with foal, similarly, a yearling is a horse of either sex between the ages of one and two. A young female horse is called a filly, and a mare once she is an adult animal. In horse racing, particularly for Thoroughbreds in the United Kingdom, an adult male horse if left intact is called either a stallion or a horse, if castrated, it is called a gelding. In some cases, particularly informal nomenclature, a gelding under four years is called a colt. A rig or ridgling is a male equine with a testicle or one which has been incompletely castrated. In the wild, colts are driven from their herds by the herd stallion somewhere between the age of one and two and this may be in part an instinct to prevent inbreeding. When driven out, they join with other young stallions in a bachelor herd. They stay with this band until they are enough to form their own herd of mares. The terms rag or rake have been used to refer to a group of colts

33.
Draft horse
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Draft horses and draft crossbreds are versatile breeds used today for a multitude of purposes, including farming, draft horse showing, logging, recreation, and other uses. They are also used for crossbreeding, especially to light riding breeds such as the Thoroughbred. While most draft horses are used for driving, they can be ridden, Draft horses are recognizable by their tall stature and extremely muscular build. In general, they tend to have an upright shoulder, producing more upright movement. They tend to have broad, short backs with powerful hindquarters, additionally, the draft breeds usually have heavy bone, and a good deal of feathering on their lower legs. Many have a profile or Roman nose. Draft breeds range from approximately 16 to 19 hands high and from 1,400 to 2,000 lb, Draft horses crossbred on light riding horses adds height and weight to the ensuing offspring, and may increase the power and scope of the animals movement. The largest horse in recorded history was probably a Shire named Mammoth and he stood 21.2 hands high, and his peak weight was estimated at 1,524 kilograms. At over 19 hands, a Shire gelding named Goliath was the Guinness Book of World Records record holder for the worlds tallest horse until his death in 2001, humans domesticated horses and needed them to perform a variety of duties. One type of horse-powered work was the hauling of heavy loads, plowing fields, a heavy, calm, patient, well-muscled animal was desired for this work. Conversely, a light, more energetic horse was needed for riding, thus, to the extent possible, a certain amount of selective breeding was used to develop different types of horse for different types of work. The reality was that the high-spirited, quick-moving Destrier was closer to the size, build, there also were working farm horses of more phlegmatic temperaments used for pulling military wagons or performing ordinary farm work also provided bloodlines of the modern draft horse. Records indicate that even medieval drafts were not as large as those today, of the modern draft breeds, the Percheron probably has the closest ties to the medieval war horse. By the 19th century, horses weighing more than 1,600 pounds that also moved at a quick pace were in demand. Even in the 20th century, draft horses were used for practical work, in the late 19th century and early 20th century, thousands of draft horses were imported from Western Europe into the United States. Percherons came from France, Belgians from Belgium, Shires from England, many American draft registries were founded in the late 19th century. The Percheron, with 40,000 broodmares registered as of 1915, was America’s most numerous draft breed at the turn of the 20th century. A breed developed exclusively in the U. S. was the American Cream Draft, many were sold to slaughter for horsemeat and a number of breeds went into significant decline

34.
Second Boer War
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The Second Boer War, usually known as the Boer War and also at the time as the South African War, started on 11 October 1899 and ended on 31 May 1902. Great Britain defeated two Boer states in South Africa, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State, Britain was aided by its Cape Colony, Colony of Natal and some native African allies. The British war effort was supported by volunteers from the British Empire, including Southern Africa, the Australian colonies, Canada, India. All other nations were neutral, but public opinion in them was largely hostile to Britain, inside Britain and its Empire there also was significant opposition to the Second Boer War. The British were overconfident and under-prepared, the Boers were very well armed and struck first, besieging Ladysmith, Kimberley, and Mafeking in early 1900, and winning important battles at Colenso, Magersfontein and Stormberg. Staggered, the British brought in numbers of soldiers and fought back. General Redvers Buller was replaced by Lord Roberts and Lord Kitchener and they relieved the three besieged cities, and invaded the two Boer republics in late 1900. The onward marches of the British Army were so overwhelming that the Boers did not fight staged battles in defense of their homeland, the British quickly seized control of all of the Orange Free State and Transvaal, as the civilian leadership went into hiding or exile. In conventional terms, the war was over, Britain officially annexed the two countries in 1900, and called a khaki election to give the government another six years of power in London. However, the Boers refused to surrender and they reverted to guerrilla warfare under new generals Louis Botha, Jan Smuts, Christiaan de Wet and Koos de la Rey. Two more years of attacks and quick escapes followed. As guerrillas without uniforms, the Boer fighters easily blended into the farmlands, which provided hiding places, supplies, the British solution was to set up complex nets of block houses, strong points, and barbed wire fences, partitioning off the entire conquered territory. The civilian farmers were relocated into concentration camps, where very large proportions died of disease, especially the children, then the British mounted infantry units systematically tracked down the highly mobile Boer guerrilla units. The battles at this stage were small operations with few combat casualties The war ended in surrender, the British successfully won over the Boer leaders, who now gave full support to the new political system. Both former republics were incorporated into the Union of South Africa in 1910, the conflict is commonly referred to as simply the Boer War, since the First Boer War is much less well known. Boer was the term for Afrikaans-speaking white South Africans descended from the Dutch East India Companys original settlers at the Cape of Good Hope. It is officially called the South African War and it is known as the Anglo-Boer War among some South Africans. In Afrikaans it may be called the Anglo-Boereoorlog, Tweede Boereoorlog, in South Africa it is officially called the South African War

35.
Military colours, standards and guidons
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The Roman Empire also made battle standards a part of their vast armies. It was formalized in the armies of Europe in the High Middle Ages, as armies became trained and adopted set formations, each regiments ability to keep its formation was potentially critical to its, and therefore its armys, success. In the chaos of battle, not least due to the amount of dust and smoke on a battlefield, Regimental flags are generally awarded to a regiment by a head-of-State during a ceremony. They were therefore treated with reverence as they represented the honour, Colours may be inscribed with the names of battles or other symbols representing former achievements. Regiments tended to adopt colour guards, composed of experienced or élite soldiers, as a result, the capture of an enemys standard was considered as a great feat of arms. They are never capriciously destroyed – when too old to use they are replaced and then laid-up in museums, religious buildings and other places of significance to their regiment. However, in most modern armies, standing orders now call for the Colours to be destroyed if they are ever in jeopardy of being captured by the enemy. Due to the advent of modern weapons, and subsequent changes in tactics, Colours are no longer carried into battle, but continue to be used at events of formal character. The Armed Forces of the Argentine Republics military Colours of the Argentine Army, Argentine Navy and Argentine Air Force are the Flag of Argentina as the National War Colour and the Unit Colour. The National War Colour is a variation of the Argentine national flag made for use, while the Unit Colour differs per service arm. Only the Regiment of Patricians uses company colors, cadet squadron colours are used by the Argentine Air Force Academy. Units of the Brazilian Armed Forces carry a stand of two Colours, differing per service, the standard of the Army measures 80 ×120 cm, white with the Army coat of arms in the centre, trimmed with gold fringe. The name of the service is inscribed in letters on a green scroll beneath the shield. Above the shield is a helmet with red and sky blue mantling. The staff is topped by a nickel-plated lance-head finial,32 cm high, ten red streamers with campaign honours inscribed in sky blue letters are also attached below the lance-head. The staff is 212 cm long, not including the lance-head and it is covered in sky blue velvet with a red spiral strip. The colour belt is 10 cm in width, covered with sky blue velvet with red velvet stripes, the Navys flag uses dark blue colours, the Air Force flag ultramarine blue. Brazilian military units also carry the flag as a National Colour

36.
Turnip
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The turnip or white turnip is a root vegetable commonly grown in temperate climates worldwide for its white, bulbous taproot. Small, tender varieties are grown for consumption, while larger varieties are grown as feed for livestock. In the north of England and Scotland, and eastern Canada, turnip often refers to rutabaga, the most common type of turnip is mostly white-skinned apart from the upper 1–6 centimetres, which protrude above the ground and are purple or red or greenish where the sun has hit. This above-ground part develops from stem tissue, but is fused with the root, the interior flesh is entirely white. The root is roughly globular, from 5–20 centimetres in diameter, underneath, the taproot is thin and 10 centimetres or more in length, it is trimmed off before the vegetable is sold. The leaves grow directly from the shoulder of the root. Turnip leaves are eaten as turnip greens, and they resemble mustard greens in flavor. Turnip greens are a side dish in southeastern U. S. cooking, primarily during late fall. Smaller leaves are preferred, but the taste of larger leaves can be reduced by pouring off the water from the initial boiling and replacing it with fresh water. Varieties of turnip grown specifically for their leaves resemble mustard greens and have small or no storage roots and these include rapini, bok choy, and Chinese cabbage. Similar to raw cabbage or radish, turnip leaves and roots have a pungent flavor that becomes milder after cooking, Turnip roots weigh up to 1 kilogram, although they are usually harvested when smaller. Size is partly a function of variety and partly a function of the length of time the turnip has grown, most very small turnips are specialty varieties. These are only available when freshly harvested and do not keep well, most baby turnips can be eaten whole, including their leaves. Baby turnips are sold in yellow-, orange-, and red-fleshed varieties and their flavor is mild, so they can be eaten raw in salads like radishes and other vegetables. The turnips root is high in vitamin C, the green leaves of the turnip top are a good source of vitamin A, folate, vitamin C, vitamin K and calcium. Turnip greens are also high in lutein, sensitivity to the bitterness of these cyanoglucosides is controlled by a paired gene. Some evidence shows the turnip was domesticated before the 15th century BC, the turnip was a well-established crop in Hellenistic and Roman times, which leads to the assumption that it was brought into cultivation earlier. Sappho, a Greek poet from the seventh century BC, calls one of her paramours Gongýla, Zohary and Hopf note, however, there are almost no archaeological records available to help determine its earlier history and domestication

37.
British Army
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The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom. As of 2017 the British Army comprises just over 80,000 trained Regular, or full-time, personnel and just over 26,500 trained Reserve, or part-time personnel. Therefore, the UK Parliament approves the continued existence of the Army by passing an Armed Forces Act at least once every five years, day to day the Army comes under administration of the Ministry of Defence and is commanded by the Chief of the General Staff. Repeatedly emerging victorious from these decisive wars allowed Britain to influence world events with its policies and establish itself as one of the leading military. In 1660 the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were restored under Charles II, Charles favoured the foundation of a new army under royal control and began work towards its establishment by August 1660. The Royal Scots Army and the Irish Army were financed by the Parliament of Scotland, the order of seniority of the most senior line regiments in the British Army is based on the order of seniority in the English army. At that time there was only one English regiment of dragoons, after William and Marys accession to the throne, England involved itself in the War of the Grand Alliance, primarily to prevent a French invasion restoring Marys father, James II. Spain, in the two centuries, had been the dominant global power, and the chief threat to Englands early transatlantic ambitions. The territorial ambitions of the French, however, led to the War of the Spanish Succession and the Napoleonic Wars. From the time of the end of the Seven Years War in 1763, Great Britain was the naval power. As had its predecessor, the English Army, the British Army fought the Kingdoms of Spain, France, and the Netherlands for supremacy in North America and the West Indies. With native and provincial assistance, the Army conquered New France in the North American theatre of the Seven Years War, the British Army suffered defeat in the American War of Independence, losing the Thirteen Colonies but holding on to Canada. The British Army was heavily involved in the Napoleonic Wars and served in campaigns across Europe. The war between the British and the First French Empire of Napoleon Bonaparte stretched around the world and at its peak, in 1813, the regular army contained over 250,000 men. A Coalition of Anglo-Dutch and Prussian Armies under the Duke of Wellington, the English had been involved, both politically and militarily, in Ireland since being given the Lordship of Ireland by the Pope in 1171. The campaign of the English republican Protector, Oliver Cromwell, involved uncompromising treatment of the Irish towns that had supported the Royalists during the English Civil War, the English Army stayed in Ireland primarily to suppress numerous Irish revolts and campaigns for independence. Having learnt from their experience in America, the British government sought a political solution, the British Army found itself fighting Irish rebels, both Protestant and Catholic, primarily in Ulster and Leinster in the 1798 rebellion. The Haldane Reforms of 1907 formally created the Territorial Force as the Armys volunteer reserve component by merging and reorganising the Volunteer Force, Militia, Great Britains dominance of the world had been challenged by numerous other powers, in the 20th century, most notably Germany

38.
Flanders
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Flanders is the Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium, although there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, language, politics and history. It is one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, the demonym associated with Flanders is Fleming, while the corresponding adjective is Flemish. The official capital of Flanders is Brussels, although Brussels itself has an independent regional government, in historical contexts, Flanders originally refers to the County of Flanders, which around AD1000 stretched from the Strait of Dover to the Scheldt estuary. In accordance with late 20th century Belgian state reforms the area was made two political entities, the Flemish Community and the Flemish Region. These entities were merged, although geographically the Flemish Community, which has a cultural mandate, covers Brussels. Flanders has figured prominently in European history, as a consequence, a very sophisticated culture developed, with impressive achievements in the arts and architecture, rivaling those of northern Italy. Belgium was one of the centres of the 19th century industrial revolution, geographically, Flanders is generally flat, and has a small section of coast on the North Sea. Much of Flanders is agriculturally fertile and densely populated, with a density of almost 500 people per square kilometer. It touches France to the west near the coast, and borders the Netherlands to the north and east, the Brussels Capital Region is an enclave within the Flemish Region. Flanders has exclaves of its own, Voeren in the east is between Wallonia and the Netherlands and Baarle-Hertog in the consists of 22 exclaves surrounded by the Netherlands. It comprises 6.5 million Belgians who consider Dutch to be their mother tongue, the political subdivisions of Belgium, the Flemish Region and the Flemish Community. The first does not comprise Brussels, whereas the latter does comprise the Dutch-speaking inhabitants of Brussels, the political institutions that govern both subdivisions, the operative body Flemish Government and the legislative organ Flemish Parliament. The two westernmost provinces of the Flemish Region, West Flanders and East Flanders, forming the central portion of the historic County of Flanders, a feudal territory that existed from the 8th century until its absorption by the French First Republic. Until the 1600s, this county also extended over parts of France, one of the regions conquered by the French in Flanders, namely French Flanders in the Nord department. French Flanders can be divided into two regions, Walloon Flanders and Maritime Flanders. The first region was predominantly French-speaking already in the 1600s, the latter became so in the 20th century, the city of Lille identifies itself as Flemish, and this is reflected, for instance, in the name of its local railway station TGV Lille Flandres. The region conquered by the Dutch Republic in Flanders, now part of the Dutch province of Zeeland, the significance of the County of Flanders and its counts eroded through time, but the designation remained in a very broad sense. In the Early modern period, the term Flanders was associated with the part of the Low Countries

39.
Charge (warfare)
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A charge is a maneuver in battle in which combatants advance towards their enemy at their best speed in an attempt to engage in close combat. The charge is the dominant shock attack and has been the key tactic, modern charges usually involve small groups against individual positions instead of large groups of combatants charging another group or a fortified line. It may be assumed that the charge was practised in prehistoric warfare, the tactics of the classical Greek phalanx included an ordered approach march, with a final charge to contact. Initially successful, it was countered by effective discipline and the development of defensive bayonet tactics, the development of the bayonet in the late 17th century led to the bayonet charge becoming the main infantry charge tactic through the 19th century and into the 20th. As early as the 19th century, tactical scholars were already noting that most bayonet charges did not result in close combat, instead, one side usually fled before actual bayonet fighting ensued. The act of fixing bayonets has been held to be connected to morale. The shock value of an attack has been especially exploited in cavalry tactics. However, when cavalry charges succeeded, it was due to the defending formation breaking up and scattering. It must be noted, though, that while it was not recommended for a charge to continue against unbroken infantry. The cavalry charge was a significant tactic in the Middle Ages and these developments began in the 7th century but were not combined to full effect until the 11th century. The Battle of Dyrrhachium was an instance of the familiar medieval cavalry charge. By the time of the First Crusade in the 1090s, the charge was being employed widely by European armies. It became increasingly common for knights to dismount and fight as heavy infantry. The use of cavalry for flanking manoeuvres became more useful, although interpretations of the knightly ideal often led to reckless. Cavalry could still charge dense heavy infantry formations head-on if the cavalrymen had a combination of certain traits, however, the majority of cavalry personnel lacked at least one of these traits, particularly discipline, formations, and horses trained for head-on charges. In the twentieth century, the charge was seldom used, though it enjoyed sporadic. In what was called the last true cavalry charge, elements of the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the United States attacked Villista forces in the Battle of Guerrero on 29 March 1916. The battle was a victory for the Americans, occurring in desert terrain, at the Mexican town of Vicente Guerrero, Chihuahua

40.
Machine gun
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A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm designed to fire bullets in quick succession from an ammunition belt or magazine, typically at a rate of 300 to 1800 rounds per minute. Note that not all fully automatic firearms are machine guns, submachine guns, rifles, assault rifles, shotguns, pistols or cannons may be capable of fully automatic fire, but are not designed for sustained fire. Many machine guns also use belt feeding and open bolt operation, unlike semi-automatic firearms, which require one trigger pull per round fired, a machine gun is designed to fire for as long as the trigger is held down. Nowadays the term is restricted to heavy weapons, able to provide continuous or frequent bursts of automatic fire for as long as ammunition lasts. Machine guns are used against personnel, aircraft and light vehicles, or to provide suppressive fire. Some machine guns have in practice sustained fire almost continuously for hours, because they become very hot, practically all machine guns fire from an open bolt, to permit air cooling from the breech between bursts. They also usually have either a barrel cooling system, slow-heating heavyweight barrel, although subdivided into light, medium, heavy or general-purpose, even the lightest machine guns tend to be substantially larger and heavier than standard infantry arms. Medium and heavy guns are either mounted on a tripod or on a vehicle, when carried on foot. Medium machine guns use full-sized rifle rounds and are designed to be used from fixed positions mounted on a tripod. 50in, the M249 automatic rifle is operated by an automatic rifleman, but its ammunition may be carried by other Soldiers within the squad or unit. The M249 machine gun is a crew-served weapon, Machine guns usually have simple iron sights, though the use of optics is becoming more common. Many heavy machine guns, such as the Browning M2.50 caliber machine gun, are enough to engage targets at great distances. During the Vietnam War, Carlos Hathcock set the record for a shot at 7382 ft with a.50 caliber heavy machine gun he had equipped with a telescopic sight. This led to the introduction of.50 caliber anti-materiel sniper rifles, selective fire rifles firing a full-power rifle cartridge from a closed bolt are called automatic rifles or battle rifles, while rifles that fire an intermediate cartridge are called assault rifles. Unlocking and removing the spent case from the chamber and ejecting it out of the weapon as bolt is moving rearward Loading the next round into the firing chamber. Usually the recoil spring tension pushes bolt back into battery and a cam strips the new round from a feeding device, cycle is repeated as long as the trigger is activated by operator. Releasing the trigger resets the trigger mechanism by engaging a sear so the weapon stops firing with bolt carrier fully at the rear, the operation is basically the same for all autoloading firearms, regardless of the means of activating these mechanisms. Most modern machine guns use gas-operated reloading, a recoil actuated machine gun uses the recoil to first unlock and then operate the action. Machine guns such as the M2 Browning and MG42, are of this type, a cam, lever or actuator demultiplicates the energy of the recoil to operate the bolt

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Second Battle of the Somme (1918)
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The Second Battle of the Somme of 1918 was fought during the First World War on the Western Front from late August to early September, in the basin of the River Somme. It was part of a series of successful counter-offensives in response to the German Spring Offensive, after a pause for redeployment, instead, Haig began to plan for an offensive at Albert, which opened on 21 August. The main attack was launched by the British Third Army, with the United States II Corps attached, the second battle began on 21 August with the opening of the Second Battle of Bapaume to the north of the river itself. That developed into an advance which pushed the German Second Army back over a 55 kilometre front, from south of Douai to La Fère, south of Saint-Quentin, Albert was captured on 22 August. On 26 August, the British First Army widened the attack by another twelve kilometres, sometimes called the Second Battle of Arras. The Australian Corps crossed the Somme River on the night of 31 August, and broke the German lines at the Battle of Mont St. Quentin and the Battle of Péronne. The British Fourth Armys commander, General Henry Rawlinson, described the Australian advances of 31 August –4 September as the greatest military achievement of the war, on the morning of 2 September, after a heavy battle, the Canadian Corps seized control of the Drocourt-Quéant line. The battle was fought by the Canadian 1st Division, 4th Division, heavy German casualties were inflicted, and the Canadians also captured more than 6,000 unwounded prisoners. By noon that day the German commander, Erich Ludendorff, had decided to withdraw behind the Canal du Nord, by 2 September, the Germans had been forced back to the Hindenburg Line, from which they had launched their offensive in the spring. In late September/early October, one of the battles of the whole war was the breach of the Hindenburg Line by British. Soon after, the Canadians breached the Hindenburg Line at the Battle of Cambrai, a key part of the German supply line ran parallel with the front. This policy worked but it some very determined work at the St. Quentin Canal, among the prepared defences. List of Canadian battles during World War I Hundred Days Offensive Bomford, beaten Down by Blood, The Battle of Mont St Quentin-Péronne 1918. 1918, Gamble for Victory, The Greatest Attack of World War I, Spring Offensive, New Zealand and the Second Battle of the Somme. The Third Armys Advance to Victory, Western Front 1918, retreat and Rearguard – Somme 1918. Media related to Second Battle of the Somme at Wikimedia Commons

Painting depicting the six signatories of the Armistice in the railway carriage with other participants. From left to right are German Admiral Ernst Vanselow, German Count Alfred von Oberndorff of the Foreign Ministry, German General Detlof von Winterfeldt (with helmet), British naval officer Captain Jack Marriott, and standing in front of the table, Matthias Erzberger, head of the German delegation. Behind the table are two British naval officers, Rear-Admiral George Hope, First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Rosslyn Wemyss, and the French representatives, Marshal Ferdinand Foch (standing), and General Maxime Weygand.